


Answer Me This...

by AndoriansRise



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Angst, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2020-07-31 01:21:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20106838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndoriansRise/pseuds/AndoriansRise
Summary: Trunks has a dark cloud of bad luck that looms over him. It becomes ever so apparent when he decides to travel back in time to learn about his Saiyan heritage. In his quest not only does he screw up the timeline he's in, but he unexpectedly falls in love. How will he get out of the shitfest he created and make it back to his mother?





	1. One More Trip

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fanfic and publishing it online for others to see. I'm using Future Trunks from Z and Mai from DB.
> 
> Thank you anyone and everyone who takes the time to read. 
> 
> P.S. I posted this first over on fanfiction as Andorian.

His life was nothing but misery since the day he was born and he couldn't understand why. Were the sins of his father now his cross to bear? Was all the pain and destruction so great that karma, as they called it, came for not only his father but also his family? Or maybe he was wallowing in his own pain, the pain of being alone and having no one to turn to for comfort. At least when he had traveled to the other timeline, he got a glimpse of a world that could've been his, and it brought a little consolation to his damaged heart. But this was his reality, the other life belonged to another, and all efforts that went to preserve it would be for his other self to enjoy.

His world was destroyed and all that was left was himself and his aging mother to rebuild and try to restore it to its former glory. _Whatever that meant_. He'd only been born shortly before the world had gone to hell. He took it one day at a time to avoid the overwhelming anxiety of looking at the scope of what needed to be done. His chest felt heavy and he needed a day to himself, away from everything, to regroup and recollect his thoughts and go back to being the polite and helpful young man his mother raised him to be. She needed him to be strong and he couldn't allow her to see him breaking down, no matter what was going on with him, he had to be there for her because they were all they had left. 

"Father." He thought out loud.

The man's life had been bitter to the very end in his world. Trouble followed him wherever he went, never having a moment of peace or good fortune. From his mother's words and all his time in the past he'd been able to gather up a broken image of what his father's life had been. There were so many pieces missing, but yet he knew enough to understand the terrifying truth of the disgraced prince's life: Discrimination from the Tuffles for being "mindless apes," to their enslavement and near extinction by the hands of Frieza. Then, in his timeline, the man had been brought to his knees by the creations of a mere human, a weakling, someone who used his genius to destroy some of the most powerful beings in the universe. And here he was, the last of his kind, the last saiyan. A half-breed, but a saiyan in all his right, the son of a future king that never was. 

But his thoughts lingered on the saiyans and their dreadful fate. Would the peace in the world he helped save, continue? There was a sinking feeling telling him otherwise, screaming at him that something would always follow to keep them fighting. Their incredible power made them into undeniable targets, putting everything around them in imminent danger

He wondered if his survival in this timeline and his presence here and now would only serve to bring more despair to the unsuspecting humans and his poor fragile mother. What if the saiyans had never arrived on the planet? Would Earth just have been another backwater planet of no use to anyone, and its residents been left to live peacefully?

"Could it really be?"

He sat up abruptly, grass trailing after his form. He looked out into the water, watching the waves crash, mimicking his turbulent state of mind. He wasn't upset, he wasn't afraid, but he was becoming increasingly aware of what he wanted to do. He'd spent half his day sulking on the tiny barren uninhabited island, and suddenly he was filled with adrenaline. His feet were itching to get out of that place in all senses of the phrase; he needed to get moving if he wanted to see it for himself and learn all the truths of the past that’d give him the answers to questions that constantly danced around his mind. He Stood up, fixed his eyes at the skies and took off at maximum speed.

He burst through the clouds. The chilled wind cooling his body did nothing to calm his thoughts, and so they raced a million miles per second, branching out with unimaginable possibilities.

* * *

20 years young, and yet in the time that he’d been back to his mother after defeating the androids and restoring world peace, his life had remained still. He’d spend his days lending his superhuman strength to rebuilding various structures including the one and only Capsule Corp. He’d become quite the craftsman and architect, two things that never in his life had he imagined would become part of his skill set. Despite everything his mother tasked him with learning to occupy his time, he still couldn’t shake those pervasive thoughts. He loved his parents, and it stung to think about the misery they both had endured. He needed to talk to his mother, he wanted to know everything, because maybe then he could come up with an answer.

“Mom!” Trunks yelled as he entered the newly remodeled Capsule Corp.

He was unsure of whether she’d be around. His mother had quickly regained her former glory as one of the most sought after persons in the world. Her expertise and resourcefulness was priceless in a world that needed everything rebuilt. Her mind was nothing short of a fountain of knowledge and as of late it had become a mission to fit into her busy schedule.

“Yes honey?” To his surprise before he started scoping her out with his senses, he found Bulma lying down on the living room couch.

“Oh.” His eyes widened at the sight of his mom.

“What?” She sat up, looking at him quizzically.

“Well, I, uh, honestly didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I know, I know, I’ve been so busy I’ve neglected my baby boy!” She teased and laughed.

“Mom, stop it.” He felt embarrassed. He wasn’t some needy kid that was upset about her busy schedule, in fact he was understanding and knew it had to be done.

“I’m just joking sweetie, come sit, what’s on your mind?” She sat up properly and patted the seat next to her, gesturing for him to come join her.

“Are you home for the day?” Hesitantly he sat down a few inches away from her, still unsure of whether it was the time to bring up what he wanted to talk about.

“I’ve been going non-stop for months. I got so caught up in my work today that I forgot to eat! If I hadn’t nearly fainted, I don’t think I would’ve noticed…”

A look of concern displayed across his features. He reached out with his hands and firmly gripped his mother’s shoulders.

“Mother! You’ve got to be more careful! If it’s help you need, you need to tell me. You know I don’t mind doing the work.” He knew she was overworked, but he hadn’t realized how incredibly exhausted she was. On a closer inspection, he could see the dark circles around her eyes and the creases in her skin. His mother wasn’t the young woman he had met in the past, but she had aged gracefully, and what he was seeing on her face were not lines of age or worry but those of fatigue.

With a gentle smile, she reached out a delicate hand and placed it on his forearm to reassure him that she was alright.

“Don’t worry about me. You already do more than enough for everyone. Look, if it makes you feel any better, that’s why I’m home. I took the day off because you’re right, I realized I need to slow down a little.”

“Mom I’m serious, I’m half saiyan, if you’re not feeling well you can dump the work on me, guilt free.” He felt selfish, all day he had lounged around, wallowing in his own self pity and here was his mother a mere human working days on end.

“Sweetie… You’re a young man, you should be enjoying your life and not worrying about what needs to be done. Those monsters robbed you of your childhood and adolescence. When I was your age I was out on adventures exploring the world while my dad ran Capsule Corp. For once, I want you to have the life you deserve son. You’ve done more than enough for me, for everyone! I promise, and I mean it, that I’ll be careful with my health and take some days off when I need them, but I also want you to promise me that you won’t stop living your life.” She too felt guilt. Guilt that her son had grown up to be a noble young man, but never experienced what it was like to be carefree and happy. She could see it. The underlying worry in his face was beyond his years. She wanted nothing more than to change that.

“Mom... It’s fine, I promise.” He smiled back softly. He didn’t care about those things, he couldn’t miss something he’d never had.

“I just want you to enjoy yourself.” Trunks was such a good son, and she couldn’t help but feel like he deserved more in life.

“Yeah, I know.” He grew quiet and stared down at his hands.

“I’m sorry Trunks, I didn’t mean to interrupt. What was it you were going to talk to me about?” In her monologue, she had almost disregarded what Trunks had wanted to say.

“Oh yeah, that. It was nothing really, I just wanted to talk to you mom about, you, and dad and well the saiyans. Dad didn’t talk much when I was back there and I’ve just been thinking about a lot of things since I got back.” He supposed it was as good a time as any to put it all out there. 

“What do you mean, like my relationship with your dad?” She was confused as to what he was asking. Almost as if he didn’t quite know what he himself wanted to ask.

He looked slightly panicked, he didn’t really want to know the details of their relationship again. They’d already been over that and it was quite an awkward conversation. Sure he was 20 now, but because of his rough upbringing, he’d never been in a relationship and didn’t know how to talk about those things so he mostly avoided them. It also brought back memories of his own inexperience and foolishness around women, embarrassing memories that he would much rather block out of his memory. 

“No mom, definitely not. I just want to know about what your life was like before you met any of the saiyans and what dad’s life was like out there before coming to earth… that is, if he told you.”

“Oh. Hmm.” She looked slightly disappointed, he knew that his mother would’ve loved to have someone to confide in about her relationship with Vegeta.

“Yeah, what was earth like?” He was genuinely curious.

“Well to be honest honey, it was a quiet time. I set out to have an adventure when I was sixteen and that’s when I met Goku, so technically I’ve been around saiyans practically the entirety of my life. I was just your average rich school girl who knew nothing of the world, before I dragged Goku out of those mountains, there wasn’t anything exciting in my life. There’s not much to tell.” She truly believed that her life had begun the moment she set out on that adventure. And she regretted none of it. The danger, the excitement, it made her into who she was.

“What about dad? Did he tell you about his life?” There were some hard truths to face when it came to his father’s person, while she had talked about them before, he was curious if there was more to say now that he’d finally met him.

“Your father was a complicated man with a difficult life. He didn’t like to talk about his past because it was filled with nothing but unfortunate events. There’s not much to say either, I’ve told you all that I know…” She felt like she was letting him down, her son wanted to know more but there wasn’t much to give. The prince’s dark past was something he kept buried deep. She could see that it brought him great pain to recognize it no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

“That’s alright mom, we don’t have to talk about it.” It hadn’t gone exactly as he’d hoped, but he didn’t want to press her.

He had an idea where to begin, and that was good enough for now.

“Mom, you should get some rest, I’m going to head down to the lab and get some blueprints I need to look over for next week.”

She had such an adorable, hardworking son, for the life of her she couldn’t understand why he didn’t have himself a girlfriend now that there was time.

“Alright sweetie, but you too, ok?”

He gave her his biggest smile and nodded in agreement. Sorry mother, he thought. He wasn’t going to be looking at blueprints tonight. There was something else that he needed in that lab.

* * *

His mother kept a history of everything. Anything to do with technology, she logged it. After years of working as her right hand man, Trunks had learned her shorthand and knew all the passwords to whatever computer and database he needed to access. He felt like he was violating her trust by going through her stuff without notifying her, but he wanted to know more about his dad, the saiyans, and especially Goku. He was a peculiar case, a saiyan raised as human, never knowing his true origins until he was well into adulthood.

He started with ship logs. Goku had arrived back on earth on a saiyan space pod after the events of Namek. The ship had several logs referring to a place called Frieza planet 79. It remained ported there months at a time which indicated to trunks and his mother, since she had already made a note, that it was its home base

This specific pod belonged to a fellow by the name of captain Ginyu. He'd never heard anyone mention his name, but according to his mother's notes, the guy had been a high ranking official in Frieza's army which made it so his pod had valuable information. Curious, he typed in his father's name to see what would come up and sure enough, there was an extensive file dedicated to him with multiple sections.

There was mission after mission logged assigned to his party, with him being the head of the operation. They were all back to back without much of a break in between, with the exception of one. It looked like he had remained on planet 79 for a period of 5 months, the longest recoded break between missions since the beginning of the logs. Trunks wondered what had made him take a break. As atrocious as what his father had done for a living, Trunks knew that just like his father took his training to the extreme, he was sure his missions were no exception.

He scrolled through the images of his father, noting the change from a young devious looking boy, to a hardened battle scarred man. He looked so similar yet so different from when they’d met... The androids robbed him of the opportunity to get to know his father and he was forever grateful to his mother for the opportunity she had provided him. His only regret was that it didn't last longer.

This was the best he could do, learn through records about the man he so admired. He was curious to know everything about him. He had heard stories about his mother's family, about her past, he'd seen pictures of them and had luckily been able to meet and interact with his grandparents before they passed away, but his father's entire life was new to him and he was excitedly consuming the information at his fingertips.

As he relaxed and laid back to daydream, the bright yellow of the time machine caught his eye. His mother had left it out of its capsule. They no longer needed it, but she was a perfectionist when it came to her inventions and was always constantly working on things that in all honesty didn't need to be worked on. 

Thoughts he'd had earlier that day came rushing back and his excitement over discovering about his father's life took on a whole new meaning. Would doing a little more hands on investigation really do any harm if he was careful? His eyes lingered on his mother's prized possession, debating back and forth on what and when to take action. _She would never know_, he told himself, trying to convince himself of his own lie. Stupid thought, of course she'd know, she was Bulma. And not only that, it was about who he was. He didn't like to lie or deceive people. He was an honest man and his mother was the last person he’d want to lie to. If he told her, she would never agree... 

Now standing in front of it, he placed his hand on the cool metal , triggering fond memories of people in times past. _Dad, Gohan, Goku and young mother_. He had to know. _Sorry mother. I promise you I’ll stay out of trouble_. Just like she had gone on adventures in her youth, now it was his turn. Not exactly the most rational comparison, but it was all he could come up with to ease his guilt at taking the machine without permission. He looked back up at the stairs, knowing that his mother peacefully slept beyond the doors. He’d tell her the truth once he got back, and that was a promise.

Heading to where his mother kept her emergency supplies, out of one of the desktop drawers Trunks took a handful of capsules, including the spaceship capsule and proceeded to jump on the time machine. He set the coordinates and dates, staring at them long and hard, thinking about how this was his last chance to change his mind about the journey he was about to embark on. 

"I need to do this," he said out loud. And with that, he pushed the button. Poof, gone from his plane of existence only to reappear in one completely alien to his own.


	2. Surveillance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After searching through PTO records, Trunks has decided to take the time machine for a spin behind his mother's back. Where's he going?

Planet 79.

He exited the time machine swiftly and proceeded to encapsulate and store it away in his pocket. The planet looked barren, dusty and without life. Had it not been for the buildings ahead in the distance and the consistent landing and blasting off of PTO pods he could've sworn that he was in the wrong location. Scoping out the area, he noticed a pattern of soldiers traveling through the exterior of the structure, every so often there would be a straggler traveling all by his lonesome. Trunks watched intently for the flow of soldiers. Every soldier looked different than the last, so he suspected that his lilac hair and blue eyes wouldn't be of hindrance. Once he did away with his clothes he was certain that if he took one of the soldier’s uniforms, he’d be camouflaged enough to be able to walk about without being questioned.

One of the stragglers stepped out of his pod and began walking down the long paved sidewalk heading into the buildings ahead. Target locked, Trunks made his move. He appeared behind the soldier, reached around his neck and in one swift gesture, before the man could compute what was happening, he pulled his head back, and watched as the man's body grew limp in his arms. He could smell death on him, not just from his own untimely demise at Trunks’ hands, but the smell of genocide. Disgusted and all too familiar with the smell of a mass murderer, he made quick work of the corpse, stealing his clothing for himself and blasting the body to ashes. It didn't bother him, just like it didn't bother him to dispose of the henchmen Frieza had brought along to earth a couple years back. If it was up to him, he'd destroy the place in that moment to spare millions of innocent species from extinction.

Back on the path, Trunks walked down the paved walkway to the massive metal doors that'd give him access to the soldiers’ living quarters and base of operations. Using the deceased man's scouter as his key inside, the doors began to part to reveal a world more foreign than Trunks could’ve imagined. It was complete and utter culture shock. Expecting to see more hallways, instead he was greeted with a domed lobby jam packed with PTO soldiers talking loudly and walking about. He felt instant regret of not going over Ginyu’s database with more care. 

His eyes danced around, examining the hundreds of different species all congregated in a singular place. He stared at each and every one, taking in their peculiar characteristics. He was so absorbed in his curiosity that only when someone bumped past him while getting through the crowd did he become aware of his dumbfounded face. Trunks blushed at his silly reaction and looked around more discretely, but this time only to see if anyone had noticed his odd behavior, but of course, no one paid him any mind, he just another ant on the anthill.

He wove through a sea of soldiers, making it through the crowd to the end where he could see another set of metal doors identical to the ones behind him. As he approached them, fully determined to leave the crowded room, he realized that absolutely no one was heading over. If anything they seemed to be avoiding them like the plague. Having taken a uniform from a lower ranking soldier, he knew that he would be one of the least likely to have access and the most likely to be in trouble if attempting to make any unsolicited moves.

Blinking and beeping coming from his scouter took his attention from the rest of the room, he was vaguely familiar how to read some of the symbols appearing on his screen but they were too fast for him to try and decipher so he was unsure if he was being summoned somewhere, or worse, if he’d been discovered to be an infiltrator! Nervously, his eyes shot to the people directly ahead of him only to see that others’ scouters were going off simultaneously.

A deafening silence overtook the room and all the men around him stood at attention facing forward to what appeared to be a blank wall. Copying their movements, Trunks followed suit. Unfortunately being his father’s son, and his grandpa’s grandson, while taller than both of them, he was still a short man compared to the grand majority of the species surrounding him. He couldn’t quite see what was ahead of him and so he kept his eyes and ears open. A bright flash of light overtook the room and what seemed to be a blank wall was projecting an image, the image of the space tyrant.

“I will make this brief. This quarter’s purging times have been brought to my attention and many of you are slipping. A decline of 5% in purging speed. Absolutely unacceptable. The groups that have kept up their performance or have improved will be kept as is, but be aware after this message you will be regrouped, and those who are still underperforming will be disposed of. I have no use for you.” With a cynical smile, Frieza stared at the camera for an unnecessary few extra seconds, before taking a swig of his wine and letting the screen cut out returning the wall back to its former state.

The room was tense, and despite the image of the tyrant having gone out, the men remained at attention, too scared to make a move. Most of the men appeared to be weak, sporting the forearm laser gun. Trunks knew most of them wouldn’t be up to the task, and judging by their inaction and obvious nervousness, he knew that they knew it too. 

Up on the wall where Frieza’s punchable face had appeared, a new screen flashed. It looked like lists and stats of some kind. Seeing a bit of movement by other soldiers, Trunks decided this was his chance to move up to the front row to get a better view. He pushed through stunned soldiers that were struggling to come to terms with the tyrant’s words. 

Sure enough, there were names of what he guessed were the very soldiers in attendance. It was a comprehensive and detailed list of the last three quarters, displaying their power levels, number of planets purged, and the last on the list, the speed of the purges completed solo vs in-group. Curious, he scanned the list for his father’s name.

He stood there, frozen, taking in the numbers. Reading them once, twice, stepping a little closer, thrice. No, his eyes didn’t deceive him, they were real. His purge numbers and times were through the roof, one of the Frienza’s best, or worst depending on your moral compass. He felt sick, nauseated. His father didn’t choose this life, he’d been raised the prince of a violent race, that’s how he had always rationalized it. He’d stayed on earth, fought to protect it, put his life on the line to avenge his honor when Cell put a hole through his chest. This was not who he was, his mother had painted a picture of a troubled man who was inherently good but was marred by circumstances. Knowing about his father’s past through vague conversations with his mother was one thing, but seeing it for himself in cold hard numbers was a tough pill to swallow. He’d seen the many missions on the space pod logs, but this was far more than he imagined.

It wasn’t a secret that his father’s past was riddled with darkness but he idolized and loved him. He knew his father had been bad in the past and had accepted it just as his mother, but at this very moment he felt conflicted. He’d hated the androids for their murderous ways, but then here was his father, the man he loved and wanted so badly to have been part of his life wiping out countless species. This was what he was here for, to see it all, to see the truth for himself once and for all. He buried his feelings, they’d only get in the way. This wasn't the time and place, he still needed to figure out how to meet his father without actually meeting him. He needed to be level headed and have no distractions, he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

* * *

Following the map on his scouter, Trunks spotted numbered doors that looked like prison cells. Sensing no one inside, he opened the one belonging to the deceased soldier whose identity he’d stolen. Judging by all the activity out in the common areas, he felt that it would be the best place to get some privacy to start his hacking. 

He'd brought along the capsule where he'd stored away the diagnostics tools his mother had given him. He took out his handheld computer, powering it on to make his move. He'd noticed that there was surveillance, and deciding the cameras would be quick work to hack into, Trunks scanned for them. A few minutes later, he was linked to all cameras within scanning range. He set to record the galley, training room and finally the hallway leading to his father's personal quarters in hopes it’d lend a clue to where he could possibly be.

There was no sign of him, he couldn’t sense him anywhere. He could’ve tried hacking their database to locate his father, but his skills were nothing like his mother’s. Playing it safe, he opted for snooping the old fashioned way while he waited for the facial recognition software to notify him of his father's presence.

His stomach grumbled, and with that, his decision was made of where he’d investigate first: the galley. He'd kill two birds with one stone, snoop while satiating the bottomless pit he had for a stomach. Before he reached the entrance of the galley, he could see a line had formed. The soldiers were waiting for their turn to scan their scouters just as he had done through all other doors he'd used. Unfazed, Trunks waited for his turn but watched intently, reading the information on the screen. It looked like every so often their ID photo would pop up alongside their stats.

_Shit_. Trunks wasn't sure if one would show up for him, it hadn't before, but on closer inspection he realized the scanner was different, bigger. He prayed silently that nothing would come up, or at the very least that no one would see it if it did. He was hungry and it was too late to try and use his speed to flash past them, so he took the risk.

Palms sweating, eyes darting nervously, he stood strategically blocking the screen from view of other soldiers. He took a deep breath and scanned his scouter, it beeped a couple times and a fraction of a second later, his face felt unexpectedly warm. He touched his face to check what the sensation had been, but before he began to run his hand against his cheek, the screen blinked again and the face staring back at him on the ID and stats wasn't that of the man he'd killed, but that of his own.

Slightly taken aback by the display, he stumbled his way past the doorway wondering what the hell had happened and why there hadn’t been some sort of warning that there were now two completely different looking individuals sharing a name. Were they really that careless about security? If that was the case then hacking their systems would be a cake walk.

Walking up to the hot plates, he felt disappointed, none of the food there looked or smelled appetizing, no color, no real variety. Trunks groaned because he really was hungry but was hoping to be in for a treat with alien cuisine. Maybe he was a bit too optimistic about this whole situation, none of what he'd planned for was going right, and he didn't have anyone to blame but his own impatience.

Taking his tray, filled of unappealing gray colored foods, he walked over to one of the tables and sat down next to the least threatening looking set of individuals, wanting to do all he could to avoid troublesome characters. The soldiers in the galley were loud and obnoxious all seeming to fight for attention just like when they fought for power. They were all meaningless to him, so he chose to shift his attention to the food before him. No utensils were provided nor did they seem to be available, so he resorted to digging in with his hands and stuffing it down like a savage. Shoveling bite after bite, he grew more disgusted with the taste of the food. He placed a hand over his mouth and pushed down the last bite he could handle. Knowing he needed to conserve the supplies he brought with him, eating for free at the galley made it so he could keep his rations for a rainy day and he figured eating whatever the hell he had just eaten had to be better than nothing. At least that is what he told himself to justify having eaten god knows what.

“You gonna eat your food kid?” The burly man sitting in front of him asked.

“Oh, no, you can have it if you want.” Without hesitating, he pushed his tray over to the voice but remained seated.

Without so much as a look, or any show of gratitude, the man took his tray and slammed his empty one in front of Trunks, startling him and causing him to look back up at the man. Noticing Trunks’s reaction, the man burst into laughter. Still a bit confused, the young half saiyan sat there quietly staring at him waiting to see what he’d say or do. He tried to remain as neutral as possible waiting, ready for a reaction. Taking his calm demeanor as a sign of weakness, the man stopped his laughter and gave Trunks a cold menacing stare.

“You’re not gonna last long with that attitude kid.” He shook his head as a sign of disappointment and wolfed down the rest of the food Trunks had given him.

Feeling a bit insulted and annoyed at the fact that he had to bite his tongue, instinctively Trunks grunted and scowled, furrowing his brows. Instantly infuriated by Trunks’s reaction, the bald man slammed his fists down on the table and looked at him directly in the eyes, and as he did so, his will to punch the younger man in front of him dissipated. Instead he stood there towering over him, confused and intrigued by the sight before him. With an expression matching the man before him, the gears in Trunks’s head began to turn. Now seeing the man standing tall before him, he could clearly see the tail wrapped around his waist. Saiyan. But he’d never seen or heard of him before, who was this man before him? Even more so puzzling why was he shocked at the sight of him? He was an alien just like everyone else in the room. The saiyan shook his head again, tossed the gob of food he held in his hand at the table and stomped off away from Trunks.

This was his chance, Trunks had no idea what the hell that was about, but running into a saiyan was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Without a moment to spare, Trunks followed the tall saiyan at a prudent distance. Watching the route the man took, Trunks went back to his quarters to continue following the man through the hacked cameras. Interestingly enough, the man wasn’t heading for the training rooms, living quarters or the main lobby, but rather to another set of doors that connected the building where the soldiers were confined to.

Trunks watched the feed to the doors to check to see if they were as transited as the passages in the main area, but after a few minutes of doing so, he saw no traffic to or around it. Settling for the surveillance feed on the saiyan, he saw him enter an area that contained large tanks filled with green watery substance. On closer inspection he noted that there were nude bodies inside. Horrified by the sight, Trunks had a flashback to when Krillin and himself had stumbled upon Cell’s growing fetus. Did Frieza also at some point attempt to breed super warriors? His eyes were glued on his handheld computer following the man and zooming in on his every step. Too entranced by what was on the screen, he nearly missed the shuffling outside his door, someone was outside working their scouter to enter the living quarters.

He stood ready for action. The moment the door opened he used his superior speed to rush past the soldier that was about to enter and ended up a ways down the hallway without the other man ever detecting his presence. The whole trip was becoming a collection of annoyances. He needed to find a new place to watch the feed. He was in the middle of a breakthrough, why couldn’t he just watch in peace? Aimlessly walking around the hallways, he settled for what appeared to be the lockeroom/bathroom. The stench in the place was like a punch in the face.

_Ugh, what in the hell_. He cursed his half saiyan blood at this point. His sense of smell may not have been as powerful as a full-blooded saiyan but it was strong enough to cause him to gag.

_You can do this_. He talked himself up, thinking of what he was there for. Breathing through his mouth, he walked into a stall and pulled out his computer once more, praying that despite the smell he could finally watch uninterrupted. 

Eyes glued to the screen once more, he saw the saiyan wasn’t alone anymore, he was accompanied by yet another saiyan with hair down to his knees. _How many saiyans are still around at this time?_ He wondered. The tank they were standing in front of was empty, he could see over their heads that the green liquid had been drained. 

He thought he could sense something familiar, but he needed to hear the audio to understand what was happening. Pulling out a pair of ear buds from his toolkit, he paired them with his computer and stuffed them in his ears. He was just about to release the audio feed when his stall door began shaking.

Sighing, exasperated at yet another interruption, he put his handheld away under his breastplate and stared at the door.

“It’s occupied.” He said with more aggression than intended.

It was almost as if he had said the complete opposite because the instant he finished speaking, the door burst open and a massive red skinned soldier with black and gold slits for eyes let himself in and shut the door behind him, trapping them both inside the already cramped stall. Trunks stood on guard ready to beat down the creature in front of him, but decided it was best to try and reason with him, sure he was irritated beyond belief by now but he was not in the mood to clean up another mess. 

“I don’t want to fight you.” Trunks said calmly. He knew that these soldiers were volatile and any slight tone of aggression was an opportunity for them to start a fight.

The red skinned soldier just stared at him with an expression Trunks couldn’t decipher. His snakelike features made it difficult to catch the nuances in his facial gestures. They both stood there awkwardly engaging in a stare down, with Trunks becoming confused more than anything. _Why isn’t he attacking me, am I going to have to shove him out of the way?_ He didn’t want it to come to that, he wanted to keep as low profile as possible, but he was met with roadblocks at every turn.

“Fuck!” He said out loud, deciding that this man was giving him no other choice but to use brute force. He’d knock him out and leave him in the stall, no one would ever know what happened.

With a devilish smirk came the unexpected response.

“That’s right,” the soldier said in a raspy voice like that of a man who’d spent the last 50 years of his life smoking. 

“What?” Baffled, Trunks didn’t know if to be annoyed, angry or something different altogether.

The red skinned figure before him put his hands down on the waistband of his training pants and began to work them down slowly, keeping eyes locked with the wide eyed young man before him.

“Pretty ones like you don’t last long around here without a master.” Licking his lips, he took one step forward, inching closer to the horrified Trunks.

That was the second time someone had insinuated he was weak in less than an hour. Incredulous, the half saiyan stepped back trying to regain the space he’d lost but quickly ran into the wall of the stall. When the man finished exposing himself, clearly ready for something more than taking a piss, shocked beyond belief at what was happening, Trunks didn’t react, but instead felt vile rise up his throat.

“Bend over.” The man commanded.

Snapping back to reality, recovering from the initial shock of what the man was soliciting from him, in a movement too quick for the aggressor to see, Trunks landed a clean blow to the back of his head causing the man to collapse on the ground unconscious.

“What the fuck! I’m fucking cursed!” He yelled without a care of who could hear him, pulling at his hair, unintentionally undoing his neatly combed ponytail. He stood there staring at the exposed man in disgust, wondering if this was his karma for having left without his mother’s consent.

He pushed the soldier with his foot towards the back of the stall and stepped over him to get to the door to leave. He opened the stall a crack, squeezing through and quickly shutting the door to avoid anyone seeing the body he’d left behind. On the outside he was met with dozens of hostile, and to his dismay, some leering eyes. Fearing he would finally vomit and make a fool of himself, Trunks held a hand to his mouth and swiftly exited the bathroom. 

Taking back his previous thoughts, in no way was his saiyan blood a curse at this moment, instead he silently thanked his father for his genes. 


	3. Grounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trunks successfully infiltrated planet 79 base and tapped into their cameras. Will he find his father?

He sat on the dirt, hidden away between two buildings near the spot where he had killed the soldier earlier that day. Accompanied only by particles of dust, he was finally able to get back to watching the surveillance cameras. Settling onto the ground, the relief of solitude lasted but a second. One glance at his screen, and he was once more filled with annoyance. There'd been some developments. Apparently the person who was released from the tank was his father not some freakish experiment as Trunks had imagined, which explained the familiar presence he'd sensed. The two larger saiyans had moved and were no longer blocking the camera's line of sight, and in plain view was Vegeta, dripping wet, working on clothing himself. The audio was fuzzy but he could pick up some of what they were saying.

"I'm telling you Vegeta, there was something off about him."

"Point him out to me and I'll make that decision for myself." Vegeta commanded.

"You got it Vegeta." The bald man answered.

The two men stood there silently, waiting for Vegeta. They seemed on edge, cautious, down to their most minute movements. _What's this all about? How long has he been in that tank?_ He had only set three cameras to record and because of the numerous interruptions he hadn't been able to set the current one to do so as well so completely missed that interaction. He shrugged it off, probably official business, Trunks thought.

"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon. Be ready because I don't want to spend another minute more than necessary on this god forsaken planet." Without another word, the fully dressed Vegeta walked off leaving the two other saiyans behind.

_Father is as pleasant as always_, Trunks thought. Oddly enough it brought him comfort to see his father's familiar cold attitude . It was a reminder of all the time they spent together in the hyperbolic time chamber, a time where he believed his father did nothing but push him away, when all was said and done, and Cell had been defeated, he had realized his father was not as distant as he seemed. His father had been observing from afar, noticing him, and in his own way becoming attached to him. And so, his demeanor didn't fool him, not for a second; because Trunks knew that behind that cold exterior, the person hiding beneath was capable of so much more.

Following his father through the cameras, he noted the power in his stride; head held high paying no mind to anything or anyone that crossed his path. Even at his young age, the prince commanded attention while doing the simplest of tasks. This routine however, seemed practiced , he was walking with a clear purpose. Vegeta unlocked door after door until he arrived at what looked to be his final destination. He scanned his scouter but the door did not open. Instead he stood there with his feet together at attention and with his right hand resting over his chest. The doors opened and revealed the space tyrant floating on his pod, facing away from Vegeta. As if on cue, his father vowed gallantly and waited with his head down until Frieza turned around and invited him to step in. At that, the doors shut and so did Trunks' availability to the surveillance.

While waiting on Vegeta to reappear on screen, Trunks focused his attention back on the two other saiyans in the regeneration tank room. They were walking out of the area heading to the living quarters. Standing outside their door, they were taking turns talking about their gruesome kills: Laughing and taking pleasure at the idea of someone fearing them and begging for their life. He had expected behavior like that from saiyans. His own father was ruthless when it came to foes, so it was no surprise that these men indulged themselves, being that it was their line of work. However, it didn't mean it was any less despicable to him, in fact it disgusted him.

To him, it was like watching a train wreck, he hated hearing it, everything about it was awful, but for some reason he was engrossed in their conversation as an invisible spectator. Caught up in the gruesome details they were beginning to share, he hadn't switched back to check the hallway camera to Vegeta's location, but the meeting was over quicker than he thought because on his current screen he could see the prince's figure fast approaching to meet the other two men.

"We're on restriction. Frieza refuses to give us another mission because of what happened on our last one." He was clenching his jaw so hard that he could see the muscles contracting and relaxing. His hands were balled up into fists with barely restrained anger.

Trunks could see that the other saiyans feared Vegeta, their body language spoke volumes, both kept their mouths shut and their heads lowered when he spoke. But the young saiyan wasn't focusing on his subordinates, he was too lost in his anger. He looked caught up in his own thoughts, standing completely still in that hallway with fists shaking at his sides.

"Restrictions doesn't mean we can't still go tomorrow." Noticing the prince's inaction, the bald saiyan made a pathetic attempt to shake Vegeta out of his trance.

"For fucks sake Nappa, I know that. We just won't have the credits to do shit." Vegeta snapped out of it and only seemed to be more furious. He turned his back to them and faced the door to their quarters, readying to scan his scouter.

"Vegeta we can go, I have someone who can get us what we need." The long haired man made another attempt to change Vegeta's mood.

Without saying a word, his father turned back around and stared at him, silently commanding him to continue and explain himself.

"Well, there's this girl… I know she can get us what we need." He was blushing and looked more nervous than before.

Vegeta's angry expression flickered, and for a moment he appeared to have been taken by surprise. Regaining his composure, again he looked angry and waited for more details. He crossed his arms, straightened his chest and tapped a finger against his bicep as if counting the seconds it took for the saiyan to finish talking about his plan.

"She owes me a favor, I can get her to do what you need." There was a pleading look on his face, begging for Vegeta to approve.

"Fine. But if she doesn't come through, your ass is on the line Raditz." He looked up at him and pointed right in his face.

"Of course Vegeta, wouldn't expect anything less." He let out a sigh of relief as Vegeta turned his attention away from him and looked over to the one he called Nappa.

"Nappa, lets go. We have training to do. If Frieza thinks keeping us here this will stop my progress, he's mistaken." He smirked and Nappa returned the gesture.

Raditz watched after them, obviously being left out of the invitation to come and join in on the training session. When the two saiyans were far enough down the hall, the audio feed caught him muttering under his breath.

"Yeah, yeah the third class comes to save the day, but don't even get a lousy invite to spar."

Yep, that sounded like his father, he could be condescending as hell regardless of strength.

* * *

A lane opened up in the training room and the two saiyans were up next to spar. Vegeta pressed the button to activate the parameters he'd set. Activating the ki dampener to suppress their powers, the glass door closed behind them, containing them to the sparring area. Nappa was an elite class saiyan, but was no match for the prince. This was the only way that they could fight and have it prove to be a productive experience. That was not to say the burly saiyan was a chump when it came to fighting skills. Having commanded a saiyan army, he had trained many elite class warriors, but their difference in ki abilities was what set them worlds apart.

Vegeta stood ready to battle Nappa. Pound for pound, even without ki, the younger saiyan's abilities were still Impressive. He charged at the tall muscular saiyan and repeatedly threw a combination of punches and kicks. Nappa's larger size made him a slower target but well equipped to withstand the blows that were consistently landing against him. Seeing an opening to knee him in the gut Vegeta jumped, once in mid air he raised his knee and connected against Nappa's abdominal muscles.

Out of breath for just a second, Nappa took the opportunity to attempt and put some sort of distance between them. Long range combat gave him the advantage, longer arms, longer reach against the teenaged saiyan. In that split second when Vegeta had finished jabbing him in the gut, he grabbed his knee and tossed the smaller saiyan across the training room, smashing him against the glass wall. Without his ki to cushion the impact, the spiky haired saiyan hit the glass full force, startling the onlookers glued to the other side, curiously observing their battle. Vegeta wiped blood off his lip as he stood and held himself up against the wall. Smirking at the shot Napa had gotten in on him, he was searching for a weak point in the taller saiyan's stance.

Feeling pride that he'd managed to do some damage on the fearsome prince, Nappa smirked back at Vegeta and looked out at his audience to see the shocked faces, but out in the crowd of soldiers he could've sworn he saw the lilac haired youth with the icy blue eyes. He couldn't afford to look any longer, taking his stance and bracing himself for an oncoming Vegeta, he blocked his punches one by one, pausing in a stalemate. Both squatting to hold back one from pushing the other, Nappa held each of Vegeta's fists in his own, preventing him from taking another shot at him. With a perfect view of the crowd, Nappa confirmed his suspicions. Squatting lower to get closer to eye level with the prince, he gave him a telling look.

"That's him out there now, the one I told you about." Nappa said in an almost whisper.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. As Nappa released his fists, they both stood in a defensive pose. Still squatting, they took side steps until they completed a half circle to where they ended up in each other's prior standing position. Now that the crowd was in Vegeta's line of sight, he took a quick scan and spotted him. Nothing particularly stood out about him, not the lilac hair, not the blue eyes. Frieza's men were a diverse bunch, but without even being near him, Vegeta felt like there was something oddly familiar about the youth. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Deciding it was time to find out Vegeta furiously sped towards Nappa and landed a clean blow right in the face. The muscular saiyan, not ready for impact, stumbled back until he completely lost his balance and found himself on the floor. Pleased at getting his revenge, Vegeta burst out in laughter as he stood and watched his sparring partner struggle to recompose himself, failing miserably to stand back up.

"Stop embarrassing yourself, it's time to go." Pushing the release to the ki dampener, the prince walked out of the sparring room knowing that it would give Nappa the boost he needed to get back up to speed.

Eyes locked on his target, he didn't have time to waste. The young man had already begun walking down the hallway away from the commotion of the sparring soldiers. He started trailing him, seeing where he would go to next, but the closer he got to him the stronger his scent became. It was disturbingly familiar, his face was familiar but he couldn't understand why.

"Hey! Soldier! Identify yourself!" Vegeta called.

Vegeta knew who his superiors were, and he knew that well because they never let him forget it, not for one moment. He had their faces burned into his memory and he had vowed to one day make them grovel at his feet, asking for mercy and there would be none. They would pay with their blood the many times they had humiliated him. He played their game for now, but one day they'd be blindsided by his power. Right now, it was his turn to be the superior, the kid ahead of him was a nobody, a low ranking soldier, and if he didn't listen to his command, he would make sure he never made that mistake again.

Flinching at the sound of his young father's voice, Trunks internally cursed himself. _Damn it, damn it all. Why's he following me?_ He was curious and had been observing their fight but made sure to leave before they finished to avoid bumping into his father. He only meant to watch him at a distance, but somehow, first Nappa and now his father had taken an interest in him. This wasn't good. He didn't want to be a part of his past, he was supposed to be a part of his future. Desperate to lose the saiyan prince, he did the only thing he could and went straight for the bathrooms. At least in the bathroom, he could give him the run around. He didn't know who he was, so he wouldn't know what power signature to look for, even if he used his scouter.

Thanks to his abysmal luck, as Trunks was entering that foul place, he bumped right into a certain red skinned soldier. The tall figure staring down at him was groggy, rubbing the back of his neck to assess the damage Trunks had dealt him. Feeling sick all over again at the sight of him, he coughed, gagging as if he was split moments away from barfing.

"You're not getting away this time, you're going to pay for that." The tall soldier reached out a hand to attempt to grab at Trunks's shirt.

This time Trunks wasn't standing still, he knew this guy meant business. Sidestepping him, the blue eyed saiyan left the man grasping at air, stumbling forward completely missing him. Making his escape, Trunks continued at full speed taking a loop around the stalls that stood at the center of the bathroom. As he was about to make the turn around the corner, he took a glance back to see if either the soldier or his father were after his trail. It was in that last look that he watched as the red skin had stumbled a step too far and landed a firm palm on Vegeta's chest. Trunks's eyes met Vegeta's for just a fraction of a second, and it was then that he knew his father was enraged at being left to deal with the sleezy soldier. He sensed the soldier's power and he knew his father was more than capable of defending himself. In the commotion, as Vegeta dealt with the man who dared lay a hand on him, Trunks took the opportunity to make his escape out of the bathroom.

Vegeta was in an unforgiving mood. Two lower ranking insects had just disrespected him and he was set on making an example out of the one who dared touch him. The teenaged saiyan grabbed a hold of the tall soldier's forearm, his smaller hand barely able to cover half the circumference. His pitch black eyes bore into him, he stared into his soul, watching his yellow ones fill with sheer panic. Vegeta could feel the forearm twitching in his hand, and he squeezed. He watched his yellow eyes grow bloodshot with pain. He squeezed a little harder listening to the sweet harmony of screams and bones crushing under the pressure of his grip. Never losing eye contact, Vegeta smirked, one more squeeze and his fingers punctured the red skin, blood spilling out and staining his gloved hands. Having enough of his screams, with an abrupt pull on the mangled arm, the saiyan prince brought the man to a squat putting him at eye level. In his free hand a twinkle of energy had begun to form at his fingertips. Slowly he raised it until it burned against the soldier's head.

"No please, Vegeta, please it was an accident, it's that kid's fault." He pleaded for his life but Vegeta had made up his mind.

No mercy, no one had ever showed him any and he certainly didn't owe it to anyone. Blasting him in the head, his brains splattered across the already filthy bathroom floor. Done with his display of power Vegeta looked around the room, all soldiers quickly turned away pretending to be uninterested not wanting to be his next victim. The prince was one of tyrant's favorites and could get away with slaying any of them if he so pleased.

But he wasn't interested in any of them, he didn't care what they were doing and he'd only killed the one because he'd gotten in his way, and that's something he didn't appreciate. He did a quick walk around the bathroom and kicked in every stall and shower door only to expose some men's private activities but no sign of who he was looking for. The boy was gone. He knew the boy's scent, something that he would never forget. Its peculiar familiarity intrigued him, just as it had Nappa. Unfortunately, the bathroom was cesspool for repulsive odors and the scent he was following was diluted. He'd find him again, it was only a matter of time.

Unbeknownst to Vegeta on the other side of the bathroom doors, Trunks had heard and sensed the entire ordeal, and as he felt the prince approaching to leave the bathroom of horrors, he disappeared to his new preferred hideout between the two buildings outside the quarters.

* * *

Raditz had heard the gossip at the galley about yesterday's events. It was no surprise to him, Vegeta was in an atrocious mood. He always got like that whenever Frieza restricted him, and then there was the added blow to his pride of having come back half dead from his solo mission earning himself months of restriction from missions. He'd had plenty of time to think about his near defeat in the tank. Spending days in there, being conscious but having your body be worthless was more painful than the injuries themselves, he knew that from experience.

Raditz sat there at the communications center organizing their trip, making sure everything went right to avoid being in Vegeta's line of fire. The young saiyan was his prince, but even though he understood the reasons behind his mood, he still hated feeling like the bratty teenager's bitch. However, he could admit Vegeta was better than Frieza, any day. The prince took the brunt of the beatings, and if it hadn't been for that, he knew he'd be dead. No way could he withstand that kind of abuse, and so in a way he had a love hate relationship for his place in the universe.

Because of Vegeta's rank, and he and Nappa being his right hand men, they'd been allowed to take their PTO ships to planet Trade whenever they needed something. There were other modes of transport there, like the daily shuttle that docked for a few hours per day. Lowly level soldiers were able to exchange their credits for a ride, and many would, to break the monotony of life on Planet 79. As saiyans, they saw consistent action because their power level opened them up to a broad range of planets available for purging.

They'd frequented the place in between and after missions at Vegeta's request. It had been around ever since they could remember, and it had become sort of a dumping ground for survivors of purged planets that had some sort of skill to offer, but weren't strong or good enough to make the cut into Frieza's army. The tyrant kept them sort of as a reserve force, if he were to ever lose one of his scientists or doctors, which happened often, he had a whole planet to choose from. Vegeta had been interested in going for the technology aspect of it. The prince frequented several mechanics and engineers, learning about ship schematics and dissecting the workings of his own ship. It was obvious Vegeta had a plan up his sleeve, he never did anything without purpose. However, he hadn't disclosed that information to them yet, possibly to Nappa, but there was always that stigma of him being a third class and so he was left in the dark with more things than he cared to keep track of.

He enjoyed going nonetheless, because it was the only place that had females in stock. The PTO was comprised of an all male army as far as he could tell. So to see an abundance of women all in one place was like wonderland for a young hot blooded saiyan.

And that's where he'd met the female technician that would help him help Vegeta get what he needed. Vegeta was banking on the credits he was going to earn from his last mission to get what he needed, but obviously it didn't quite work out as he planned. His accounts were frozen and the move by Frieza had bankrupted him. The denial of further missions meant that there was no way to recover. The tyrant always knew just how to torture Vegeta in the physical and in the psychological sense.

Working out the final arrangements, he keyed in the access code and opened a channel, dialing for a specific young woman. What he had told Vegeta about her owing him a favor wasn't the exact truth.

One day, he'd stopped into a bar notorious for having women who traded anything valuable a soldier owned for sex. In all honesty, he was there for a drink, but when an attractive pink skinned woman approached him, he wasn't keen on refusing. And so they sat there, chatted for some minutes and to his surprise, she offered him a drink. As he was about to drink it, a slim young woman approached them both and slapped the drink out of his hand, the cups contents landing straight onto the pink skinned woman's chest. She screamed in agony as the liquid tore through her flesh. Too shaken to speak, he watched the woman run out of the bar screeching for someone to help her. He looked back at the young lady that had just saved him, not knowing what to say.

"You should be more careful." She said with sass in her voice.

"I can take care of myself, I'm a saiyan."

"Sure doesn't look like it." The girl was clearly taunting him.

"Think whatever you want, girl." He wasn't going to take the bait.

"Hey so now that I saved your life, how about you do a favor for me." She said as she sat down in the now unoccupied chair.

She was stranded on the planet. She had been a wanderer who had unknowingly requested of her traveling partner to be left to vacation on a peaceful planet that was designated to be purged. Fortunately for her, the soldiers on that mission decided her skills were worthy for a drop off at planet Trade. She told him her story, and out of curiosity and maybe because he found her attractive, he continued the back and forth with her, exchanging favors and it just so happened to be his turn this time around.

The line connected and the bright smiling blonde at the other end of the screen greeted him with an enthusiastic smile.

"Hey Tights, I got a favor to ask."


	4. Tracking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trunks had a near run in with Vegeta and Raditz has a plan for the prince. Trouble ahead?

Trunks was aware of their impending departure and was going through scenarios in his mind of how he would go about following his father over to planet Trade. Since he had proven to himself to have been careless on more than one occasion when it came to the preparations to this investigative time traveling adventure he was on, he had taken the liberty to sneak into the launch bay for the pods and found the one assigned to Ginyu. He knew the serial number, the start codes and everything pertaining to it, so he downloaded all possible information onto his handheld computer. With that he was able to learn about planet Trade and the actual lawlessness of it. He was shocked at how little supervision there was when it came to visiting the planet but was relieved because it meant one less thing for him to worry about.

His first thoughts were of leaving straight away after his father in his own spaceship, but he realized he had just been given a golden opportunity he couldn't pass up.

Without wasting any time, he diligently worked on figuring out a way to successfully hack the systems on planet 79. Their technology was running on barely compatible software. It was a double edged sword, because on one hand, it was a mess to navigate, but on the other it made them all susceptible to security breaches. The lack of compatibility made it a time consuming task because he had to break down system by system to gain access. He didn't mind, because if one good thing came out of it, it was that he was safe guarded from being discovered if he made a mistake. It all made sense as to why he had not been discovered the moment his image had been taken back at the galley entrance.

With his father gone and his hacking successful, he broke into his father's quarters and installed his own surveillance system in the room. He felt that he was missing large portions of conversations because the saiyans would continue with all the details within the privacy of their rooms.

After running some tests and choosing his point of departure, Trunks arrived at the southern end of the planet to prepare for take-off. He was aware that he could navigate it in stealth mode which would make it impossible to be tracked after blasting off. However, the trick would be getting out and landing without being seen, so he programmed a route that would take a longer and loop around to land out of the view of the docking stations that were keeping a lookout for incoming space pods. Feeling confident in his work, Trunks sat in the pilot's seat eagerly watching the systems controls light up. He was ready.

* * *

With permission from Vegeta, Raditz was the first to take off from planet 79. He had already made contact with the one person that would be available to help them and now all he needed was to discuss specifics of how things would go about. He hadn't yet told her what exactly she would be doing, but he would rather do that in person because he knew from past experiences whenever anyone heard they would be working closely with prince Vegeta, their forced politeness turned to fear in an instant. He was infamous throughout the galaxy, due to his ruthless nature and because of the well known fact that he was favored by Frieza.

Now standing at her door, waiting for her to open and invite him into her closet sized quarters, he ran through different scenarios on how to break the news to her. She knew he was a saiyan and she knew who he worked for, and so far she had never showed any hesitation towards continuing their interactions, but this was different.

"Hey. Come in." She greeted him with her usual warm smile.

It was contagious because he always found himself smiling right back at her no matter his mood. He walked in and with his tall and muscular figure, he felt as he filled half the space. All that was in the room was a desk with a chair and a small bed with some drawers tucked underneath for storage. Currently her room was in disarray, papers scattered on the bed, trinkets on the desk and the drawers pulled out revealing crumpled clothes in the compartments. Trying to make space for him in her claustrophobic living area, she kicked her drawers in and shoved the papers on the bed over to one side. Without shame at her messy nature, she invited him to sit once she had "tidied up."

"Your place looks like hell." Raditz smiled back teasing at the mess in the room. Being part of the PTO meant they had very little possessions and whatever they did have, they were to keep it in perfect order. The clutter before his eyes was unheard of in his line of work.

"Yeah, yeah, save it, what do you need?" Right for the money, she never wasted time with formalities like other merchants and whores in the area, and he much preferred her attitude.

"Look, you know I work for Vegeta." He began.

"Sure do. Go on."

"But above all, we work for Frieza. And Frieza screwed us out of receiving any more credits from here to whenever he decides to get over being angry at Vegeta. Basically we are broke as fuck right now."

"What? How did that happen?" The saiyans usually showed up to the planet with more credits than anyone she'd ever known or heard of.

"That's not important. But you know around here, no credits no business and there's stuff Vegeta needs to get done."

"And what am I supposed to do about that? I'm barely surviving here, look at where I live!" Back on earth she was rich, but here she was at the bottom of the food chain, a second class citizen.

"I don't need your credits. I need your brain." He looked at her straight in the eye.

"Ok… How so?"

"Vegeta needs you to go over some technical knowledge with him. He's been hiring different engineers and technicians to work with him on whatever it is he has up his sleeve. That's the extent of my knowledge of his little side project."

"That's not much help, my knowledge is limited. My dad is a world class scientist back on my planet and my baby sister is a genius, a freak of nature, but I'm not like them. I learned everything I know because I was always around it. I'm by no means an expert." She reluctantly could admit that Raditz was somewhat enjoyable to be around, but she had seen the way the prince interacted with anyone and everyone around him. He made it clear he was superior and if you were useless to him, he treated you like the scum stuck the bottom of his boot. Her nature would not let her tolerate that treatment. She was sure she'd stand up to him and get herself murdered. She was good at what she did, but she didn't want to be tested.

"At this point, we're desperate, I think whatever you know is better than nothing. I can guarantee your technical knowledge is beyond what Vegeta has managed to learn so far." He was confident in her abilities. She would have been long gone if she wasn't valuable in planet Trade, but as he suspected, her knowledge of Vegeta's reputation turned her away from the idea of helping his cause.

"I'll do it, but count this as you owing me two favors. You're basically asking me to risk my life here, ya know?"

"Believe me, I know. We'll meet you at the pub near the launch bay in an hour. Vegeta should be arriving at that time." He stood up to leave now that he had settled things with her, but as he turned to the doorway, he felt a touch as light as a feather land on his elbow. A little shocked by the sensation, he turned back to look at her and waited for her to speak.

"Getting claustrophobic? Why don't you just wait here with me and we'll head on over there together?" It wasn't the safest place for her to be wandering around on her own, and the landing sites was where the seediest of characters hung around.

Reluctantly, he sat back down and obliged. He couldn't explain it, but sometimes when he spent too much time alone with her, he felt slightly uncomfortable. He chalked it up to his lack of experience with females. In the past they had only served to fulfill his most primitive of needs, but never had he been around a woman that was valuable beyond that until he met her and if it hadn't been for the fact that she saved his life, he would've never given her a second thought. Then there were moments where she made subtle gestures that he'd never experienced before. She'd smile at him in the silence, unnecessarily touch him to grab his attention, and listened intently whenever he spoke. It was strange, they confused him but he secretly enjoyed them.

* * *

He was able to make a clean landing on the uninhabited part of planet Trade without a hitch. Searching out his father's ki, he zoned in on his location. He decided to fly low to the ground at a painfully low speed to hide his power level from any active scouters, and after what felt like hours, he landed outside a dark building that was barely anything beyond a box.

Fully conscientious that Nappa and his father were aware of his presence and interested in his person, he knew better than to be anywhere near their line of sight. He had the Ki's of the three saiyans on his radar and walked with his head down behind a much larger PTO soldier that had entered the place before him. He couldn't see them but judging by his senses, he deduced that the saiyans were in one of the private booths that lined the pub. He jumped into the nearest one to theirs and sat down to snoop. He was within earshot and could make out their voices on the other side. Smiling at his accomplishments he was more than pleased with himself at how much better he was doing today at scoping out his father than on his first day.

He sat there, tuned in, expecting to hear more murderous talk but what he heard left him stunned. Technical jargon. He recognized it anywhere. And there was a woman's voice, one that sounded familiar to where he felt heard it before but different enough for him to recognize he hadn't. The woman was describing different types of propulsion systems and ship schematics. She was going into detail as to how to enhance their current pods to increase their travel speed by 15%. To his surprise, his father was the only one conversing with her. It shocked him. The questions he posed her were intelligent and demonstrated he had knowledge beyond a simple space traveler. He was actually quite impressed. But once they had settled on an idea, there were a couple moments of silence followed by Vegeta's approval at whatever the female was showing him.

"That's an acceptable speed. But the trackers need to be disabled. I want you to show me how to do that." He commanded the woman.

Silence again and when she spoke up, she talked about the different models of PTO pods. Unlike speed enhancements, for this task she required the specific model of his pod. If the tracking was disabled incorrectly, it could send back an alert to the main base and trigger a search. Vegeta agreed to take her back to the pods but expected for her to get to work immediately. He wanted the technology to be available to him as soon as he blasted off from the planet. Not giving her much choice in the matter, the woman agreed to do so.

He was demanding a lot from her, Trunks was aware of the scope of the tasks he'd given her. Surely it would take at least a few days, especially since he was also requesting she create attachable trackers. He didn't want to say who they were for, but with all the enemies his father had, Trunks could speculate. It was only rational that he'd want to keep track of them.

Their conversation had come to an end and the group was heading out. Trunks pulled up the hood of the cloak to avoid being seen, but as they walked past him, he noticed Vegeta stopped. The prince took a whiff of the air and snapped his head back to look right at him. He was sure his face was covered and he was concealed by his cloak, but could feel his father's eyes boring into him. Coincidence or not, the prince eventually started walking again. Trunks breathed out a sigh of relief, grateful he'd dodged another confrontation. He opted to stay behind, and instead he tracked his father by sensing his energy. Judging by the movement of his ki, he knew that he was heading back to the porting docks. Vegeta wouldn't reveal any information to the woman, he was sure of it, so he wouldn't be missing much if he stayed behind or went back to his ship, and so he did just that.

The trek back was agonizing, he was so accustomed to flying at top speed that taking it slow made him feel like a snail, but it was all in the name of knowledge. Knowledge he'd craved for so long and felt he needed to be at peace with himself. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, he already felt as if he was making progress. His father was proving to be a peculiar character, he was learning about his interests and seeing first hand interactions with other Saiyans. It was a unique experience to say the least.

He entered his ship, removing the cloak he'd been wearing and headed straight for the bed. Back on the base he felt on edge, always needing to be on watch of the surveillance cameras, not wanting to miss a thing. His father slept little to none, and since he followed his schedule, Trunks wasn't getting much sleep either. When he'd met his father and trained with him back at the time chamber, he had become aware of that fact, and here in the past, 10 plus years younger, this Vegeta seemed to sleep even less. He seemed more restless than the man he'd become. Since there was no surveillance to track and he was aware of the scope of the task his father had given the young woman, he knew he'd be safe to rest his eyes. Surely, it couldn't hurt, he told himself.

* * *

Vegeta was sure of it. The scent of that lilac haired young man lingered in the wind. He'd memorized the scent, too familiar but yet so unrecognizable and it only spiked his curiosity to learn his identity. His sense of smell was so keen that he knew he wasn't wrong about this one, he wasn't imagining it. Maybe he couldn't use his scouter to find him but he would track him in the most primitive way. Back on the base, the boy had eluded him, disappearing into thin air before he could get a word in. He'd followed his scent, but failed to get to him and eventually gave up because he rationalized that he had better things to do and couldn't waste any more time with nonsense. Feeling a sense of urgency now because this youth had somehow followed him to Planet Trade, he sent Raditz and the blonde girl to retrieve her prototype tracker. He needed it, now.

"Nappa, back at the pub, there was a particular smell in the air." He was curious to see if the elite Saiyan had picked up on it, he knew the scent, he'd noticed him by the training area, now he needed to know about today.

"The boy, right?" His look grew stern.

"Precisely." He stared up at the massive Saiyan in agreement.

"I didn't see him, I was picking up the smell the entire time we were there."

Nappa had an unusually potent sense of smell, even for a saiyan. Superior to Vegeta's. It didn't bother him, as in most cases the ability ceased to be useful in the age of scouters. In this case, however, the heightened sense of smell would be a tool to get to the bottom of the mysterious youth. Confirmation of what he was thinking from Nappa was enough for him to set in motion his next course of action.

"When Raditz comes back with that girl, don't breathe a word about this conversation. I'm taking the tracker from her and you'll follow the scent to boy's ship, if he has one. If he doesn't, find out who he is and how he got here." He knew it couldn't be coincidence. There had to be a reason why he and the boy kept crossing paths.

"Who is this kid anyway? Any ideas?" Nappa was just as interested to find out who they were dealing with as his prince. That smell. They were both bothered by it.

"I don't, and that's what we're going to find out." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. It had only been a couple of minutes but he was growing impatient with Raditz. The longer he took to get back, the more the scent would deteriorate and he had no plans to let him get away this time.

* * *

She had her back to him and was leaning against her desk with a couple of gadgets laid out on the table. Vegeta had demanded she bring her best tracking device with her over to his ship. They were all prototypes and there was no guarantee that they'd work flawlessly, but the prince wanted to see one regardless and learn of the mechanics. Having to share her work with such a demanding prat made her slightly annoyed at Raditz. The meeting had gone worse than she imagined. Vegeta had treated her like she was his personal servant. There were moments where she wanted to lash out, but Raditz would give her a look that would stop her from doing so. It reminded her that her actions could not only have consequences for herself, but also for Raditz since he was the one that set up the meeting.

Blissfully unaware of the state of her mood, Raditz stood behind her watching as she struggled to put together the pieces of the chosen tracker. Her eyes went back and forth between a hand written schematic, and the pieces needing some final assembly. He watched her black gloved hands, and traced his eyes up her exposed arms, to her back, slowly making his way down from the white tank top that clung to her body down to the black skin tight nylon pants that left nothing to his imagination. He was starting to feel funny again, confused about how he felt about this girl. He'd always found her to be pleasing to the eyes, but their conversations prevented him from becoming too involved in perverse thoughts about her. But lately, every time he saw her, things were changing. It was becoming harder for him to decipher what this strange mix of lust and fascination with her words was coming to.

Maybe it was his intense way of staring at her while she had her back turned, but the perky blonde abruptly stopped her project and turned to face Raditz. She had spent the last few moments ranting about her disdain of having to be bossed around by Vegeta in such a careless manner, with Raditz failing to offer a single word in return. "Are you even listening to..."

His eyes were so intense, they were darker than black, swallowing her whole. Feeling suddenly timid at the looks he was giving her and their close proximity, all words escaped her and she could only stand there silently staring right back up at the Saiyan. Her cheeks were feeling hot and light tickling waves rolled inside her stomach. She opened her mouth slightly to attempt to speak again, but at this moment she really didn't know what to say.

Absent minded, he took a step closer to her, he noticed her rosy cheeks and the light smell building up in her was drawing him in. It was faint, but he recognized it, his body recognized it. She had been speaking the whole time they were there, blabbing away about something, but try as he might he couldn't focus on her words, only his thoughts of her were filtering through. His hand twitched and he felt the need to reach for her, his hand brushing the blonde curl lining her face.

"Raditz, hurry the fuck up! We don't have all day!" He nearly jumped out of his skin and retreated his hand away from her lighting fast at the sound of Vegeta's voice startling him through the scouter.

Giving each other a nervous look, Raditz tapped on the scouter and responded. "We'll be right over Vegeta."

The prince had a temper on him and they both knew better than to make him wait longer than necessary. "You ready?"

" Yes." She answered quietly and dropped her eyes to the ground and turned around to gather her things. Whatever that moment Vegeta had interrupted was, it had passed and left them both with lingering questions. He wasn't sure what he was about to do and he could see she was unsure of how to react.

They stepped out of the room in silence and walked all the way back to Vegeta without saying another word. The silence had felt so uncomfortable that it was almost a relief when they caught sight of Vegeta and Nappa. Maybe with some distraction, when it was time to speak again to each other the incident would've been forgotten and they could interact like they normally did.

" The tracker?" Vegeta didn't hesitate to let his thoughts be known. He held out his hand at the girl and waited for her to hand over what he had requested.

Digging into her crossbody cargo bag, she dug out the tracker and handed it over to the prince. Once in his hands, she was surprised to see him handle it with care. He turned the piece on all sides and examined the design, brushing a gloved finger against components he found interesting.

"Inconspicuous." His voice dripping with sarcasm, the prince smirked at the girl.

"Like I said, it's a prototype." She was neither her father nor her sister, she had more mechanical aptitude than most, but little remarks like this were a constant reminder that her skills were inferior and only strengthened her desire to become a successful science fiction writer one day. Her travels and her technical knowledge were a perfect combination to bring a compelling novel to life, she just had to get home to make it a reality.

Vegeta frowned. Surely the thing would easily be found out if anyone took even a second glance at the pod. He doubted it would work. He needed something more discreet.

"This is the best you have?" He frowned at her, disappointed by the device.

"It's the best I can do with what I'm working with." She was beginning to feel insulted. Why bother asking her if he was going to turn up his nose at it? Sure, if she was imaginative like her father, maybe she could've found a way to downsize it, but her meager earnings didn't afford her the best parts.

He stared at it some more, still handling it with care. His eyebrows began to relax and he let out a sigh. Vegeta turned away from her and was now facing the tallest of the Saiyans. The hand in which he held the tracker was outstretched to Nappa and Raditz and Tights watched them curiously. Nappa accepted the item and began to walk away from the group.

"Hey what's going on?" Bewildered at her property leaving her hands and now her line of sight, her eyes met Vegeta's.

"I need it, and you must now show me how it works."

"I never agreed to handing over my equipment, I only agreed to work on your pod and to teach you how the trackers work." Tights was not happy, she worked hard to come up with the parts to create that piece. Her existence on planet trade had been miserable and had been biding her time until she could get off and return home or at least back to Jaco.

"I'm not going to repeat myself, show me how it works." He ignored her completely. He'd have to talk to Raditz about keeping her in line because he had agreed to have her help him in what he needed and he wasn't going to limit himself as to what he asked of her. The tracker was no exception.

Feeling the deflated, she bit her tongue once more in the name of self preservation, and rummaged through her purse to pull out the schematics. She was surrendering now, but no matter the awkwardness of the events in her room this was something she wasn't going to take lightly. Raditz owed her big time, and this was a conversation she was eager to have.


	5. Solitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tights is roped in by Raditz to do a job for Vegeta. Trunks monitors his father closely. What will he find?

Nappa followed the scent out to a clearing in the desert. He carefully traced it and was in luck when he spotted an unusual looking spaceship in the near distance. At first he was surprised to learn that the scent never went anywhere near the landing docks but now seeing it in front of him, it all made sense. This young man was sporting his own mode of transportation completely unrelated to the PTO. He had never seen anything like it and was immediately intrigued. He tapped the button on his scouter to make communication with Vegeta.

"Vegeta, this kid is traveling non PTO and landed in a remote location, you want me to take a look inside and rough him up?"

"No. Come back immediately. I want to see what his next move is, we have the element of surprise on our hands. Get to the landing docks before his scouter picks up on your presence." Not wanting to be spotted, once communication was cut, he quickly attached the tracker and took off.

Back at the docks, he gave Vegeta a nod that job was done and the prince acknowledged his work with smirk. Nappa knew Raditz didn't miss the subtle exchange between them and looked to be attempting to decipher what it was about. The girl was oblivious, working on explaining the mechanics of the tracker to Vegeta and Nappa stood back watching the scene unfold.

"So if you want to access the tracker, we need to program it to pair to a compatible source."

"My scouter." Vegeta replied.

"Yes that could work." She looked intrigued at the suggestion, but went along with it.

The prince clicked a few buttons on the scouter and handed it over to Tights. He was re-configuring it to a secure mode another technician had helped establish. It was in dual mode to where the scouter could function without syncing with Frieza's computers but still be used for communicating and navigating with his saiyan comrades.

Tights had once before repaired a scouter, and it was only entrusted to her out of desperation. Vegeta handing it over with so casually caught her off guard, but what struck her most was how he just stood there, patiently waiting. She was still annoyed at him for having taken her tracker, but for non PTO personnel, it was a rare opportunity to work with their equipment, so she was overcome with curiosity. She secured it on her ear and pressed the button to activate it.

She tapped to scan for the tracker and once she found the correct signature, she paired it with the scouter as an information relay source and typed in the codes to have the data encrypted. It took her a few minutes to fine tune it and do some test signals to make sure the connection was stable, but overall it was a streamlined process that took little to no effort.

"Ok... It's done. Make sure this scouter is safe because this is all the tracker is paired with." Of course she was lying.

She had her computer back home that was also paired with the tracker, the information of its whereabouts and where it'd travel to would come directly to her as well. But Vegeta didn't have to know that. This was her way of meddling in his business for all the trouble he was causing her. Hell, maybe she could even retrieve her tracker herself. Maybe. She handed back his scouter and he took it without uttering a single thanks for what she'd done. At this point it was made painfully clear that she had no choices here, she was just another underling to him and she was expected to do as he said.

He looked to be playing with several of the buttons and navigating through the options on his scouter. When he stumbled on the file that took him to information about the tracker and retrieving a signal, his tense features relaxed a bit. _This will be easy_, he thought. However, he'd have to come back to her for more of the trackers to use on his enemies in the PTO. He'd take them out one by one, until only Frieza remained. He couldn't face them on the base. He knew they'd fight dirty, for if they saw any sign of possible defeat, the cowards would have someone jump in for them and take away the glory of tearing them apart. He wasn't stupid, he was aware that his current power could only make it so far, but he planned to make the most of it.

"What do you need to make more of these trackers? I want a more discrete version." He looked at her dead in the eye, he meant business.

"Well, I need time for one and it's possible to make a more compact version but parts are expensive. I don't have that kind of capital." She was a little scared of what he'd do to her since she was basically declining to help him. But he surprised her yet again.

The prince was pensive, no sign of resentment or aggression on his face. He knew the girl would have no way of getting the supplies she needed. That would be up to him, but he was nearly broke because of Frieza's ban on his missions. He had two options, one he could smuggle the parts she needed from the labs on base or he could do some mercenary work on planet Trade. There was no shortage of people on hit lists. Option one was risky because he had no business in the labs and his visits could be construed as suspicious and the second option was demeaning. He purged planets for a living, but only under Frieza's orders, the most powerful being in the universe, and if the orders weren't coming from him, Vegeta answered to no one.

"I see." He offered no real response, clearly at a loss of what to do.

She could feel his uncertainty and after giving it a little thought, she felt that she had a viable solution. Maybe suggesting it could give her some brownie points to where he'd treat her with a little more respect and consideration.

"You know, the trackers inside the space pods are quite small. I've been told that a lot of the pods get trashed when out on missions and parts are not recycled. Which means that if you can get your hands on the discarded pods and remove the trackers from them, I can reconfigure the tracker to work with the source of your choice rather than with the PTO. Do you know where the junk yards are or where to get access?" It was a long shot, but she had fantasized about finding the junk yard to salvage parts and make her own ship to get the hell out of the planet, but she had no such luck. She had a feeling the parts were disposed of at a base and not on this forsaken colony.

He uncrossed his arms and stared at her for a moment thinking of what she just said. Slowly a mischievous grin grew and became fully plastered on his face. He didn't know where the junk yard was at. He had never even once thought about what happened to non-functional pods, but he had another idea, a quicker solution that would prove to be little to no effort to them. The answer was right in front of them, in fact they were looking right at it.

"Raditz, Nappa, be on the lookout that no one enters the landing docks. Girl follow me."

She raised an eyebrow at the request. Surely no one would bat an eye if she was repairing his pod. It was a common occurrence here, that's why there were so many technicians and engineers on the planet. Being secretive was unnecessary.

It made Raditz feel a little uneasy watching Vegeta walk away with Tights alone. He feared their tempers. He'd already given her the look a few times to stop her from blurting out things she'd regret, without him there, it would mean trouble. And whether he could fully admit it to himself or not, he felt a little worried about her safety. He knew it was ridiculous, because in the world of the PTO, safety was non-existent.

He looked after her and for a second she glanced back at him as she walked away with Vegeta. Their eyes met and she noticed the hint of concern, but gave a small warm smile as reassurance that she'd be fine. Feeling slightly embarrassed at having overtly displayed that kind of emotion, he looked away forcing a poker face.

Nappa was more observant than people gave him credit for, he picked up on small clues such as subtle expressions like the one exchanged between Raditz and Tights.

"If you're thinking Vegeta wants your girl for more than work, you're wrong." And then there were times he got it completely wrong.

"What?" He was more in shock that he'd called her his girl than suggesting that Vegeta wanted to fuck her.

Everyone was aware that Vegeta was practically asexual. There were females out there that were turned on by his homicidal attitude and wanted to experience one night with the dangerous prince, yet he always looked at them with disgust. At his age, Raditz could remember being easily excitable by women that made advances.

Nappa didn't continue the conversation. He had said all he had to say to Raditz who was making it obvious there was something more to his little blondie.

* * *

Vegeta stopped mid stride and Tights almost accidentally stepped on his heels.

"Is this your pod I'm working on?"

"No, but we'll use their trackers to build the ones I require." He turned around to face her and he had an evil little smile showing his true intent.

So they had resorted to stealing huh? She thought about questioning whether this was wrong or how it'd affect the owners of the pods only to quickly realize that she didn't really give a damn what happened to any PTO soldier... With maybe the exception of one.

"Works for me." She gave him a cheery smile and got to work immediately.

The girl was definitely strange, Vegeta wasn't accustomed to dealing with women, especially not one so inexplicably positive and happy. He watched as she pressed the button to open the space pod's door. She entered and began to work on removing the panels that would give her access to the tracker. Expertly detaching wires and unscrewing components, he began to wonder how many ships she'd worked on.

"This isn't your first time?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Actually it is, but I got my hands on the manual of a standard space pod." She remembered the day the kind old man had given it to her. He was a dear friend to her nearing the end of his days. As a gesture of his appreciation for their friendship, he had given her one of his most prized possessions. A very detailed manual of PTO space pods. She was so excited at the prospect that maybe even if Jaco couldn't find her, she could somehow build or get her hands on a pod to take her away for the place. So she studied it religiously and her quick work on the pod was result of that knowledge.

"Hmm, well hurry it up. We have two more to go." He decided he wasn't all that interested how she came about the knowledge but rather how it could be useful to him.

Three space pods later, she had all the trackers in hand. At Vegeta's direction, she'd left the pods in disarray, not bothering to put anything back together, leaving all evidence of their sticky fingers in full display.

Eventually they got to his pod and she began making modifications to reconfigure the systems to boost his travel speed and overriding restrictions to allow him to remove tracking functions on command. In the grand scheme of things, the speed increase was minuscule but the prince was intently watching her work and soaking up all her words. At some moments he had even given her a hand and assembled back some of the pieces she'd removed. She knew that he had ulterior motives for requesting help with such matters, but the gleam in his eyes when they spoke of such things made her feel a little at home... It reminded her of her sister and her dad.

When she had finished putting up the last panel and readied herself to work on the next to pods, Vegeta stood up, took a couple of her tools and walked over to one of them to begin his work. There was an unspoken agreement that he'd work on one while she completed the last one. She was sure of it now, he had been memorizing the procedure and was now putting it to the test.

A little over an hour later, they had finished their work and even if she didn't agree with being treated as another underling, she patiently waited for his next request.

"Keep the trackers, make them your priority." He finished his sentence, turned around, and began walking towards the other saiyans.

_He needs to learn some manners_, she thought. All that work, and no thank you. Maybe in his mind, not killing her was thanks enough. Such a morbid life and way of thinking. She followed after him, not wanting to be left behind with all the evidence of their tampering.

"It's done. And girl, I'll have Raditz back soon to get those trackers. I expect you'll be diligent." He had no credits and didn't expect to have any soon so there was no point in wasting his time coming back when there was nothing for him to do. Nappa and himself had training to do. Logically, Raditz was low class, but he could admit that weakling or not, his redeeming quality was his loyalty to him. He didn't vocalize gratitude to anyone, ever. In his mind, showing one's feelings, aside from anger, was a sign of weakness, and he couldn't have anyone thinking that about him. One day everyone would bow down to him. One day...

"Of course Prince Vegeta." Making eye contact with the prince, again she felt as if maybe he wasn't completely terrible, maybe being civil with her was a sign that they were making progress. She'd noticed that his commands to her weren't quite as gruff, but maybe she was just imagining it. Nonetheless, she was still glad to hear that he'd decided to send Raditz alone for the next time.

Nappa and Vegeta walked to their pods after the quick exchange but Raditz lingered.

"How'd it go?" He was curious as to what happened.

"You know, it wasn't terrible." She smiled at him and laughed a little.

Again with that contagious smile. "He's got his moments."

"Walk me back?" She looked up at him with her ebony eyes filled with hope and warmth.

"Sure."

* * *

Trunks woke up with a start, jumping up from his bed feeling like he had just lain in a pool of his own sweat. He was experiencing slight nausea from the abrupt wakefulness, he put his head in his hands and pressed them together, hoping the pressure would provide some relief. But it didn't. He sat back down swimming through awful memories of his current nightmare.

He wasn't sure why, but sometimes he'd have bouts of time where he'd experience horrific dreams, nightmares, night terrors. There were thoughts of death, torture, always ending in his poor dear mother killed in the most gruesome way. He wondered if this time around they'd been triggered by the guilt he felt for having come here, having left without letting her know that he'd decided to take an adventure as she'd suggested, but just not exactly the way she was expecting.

Slowly releasing his head, he gently lay back on his bed and tried to relax his mind. It didn't work, because as soon as he reassured himself that his mother would be fine, he felt panicked all over again when he remembered where he was and why he was there. He focused his senses, only to find that he couldn't place his father on the planet, he was gone.

"Damn it!" He slammed his fists on the bed.

He clenched his jaw and felt disappointed and angry at himself. He'd been out longer than he anticipated. He was so overcome with fatigue that he'd slept through it all. Surely that woman his father had doing his bidding must've been more skilled than he thought. That didn't change anything though, he should've been more aware, not sleeping his day away when he was there to learn about his father and the saiyans.

The anger was welled up in his chest. Once he felt things were going right, the moment he relaxed, they'd go to shit. He was too lax about the situation, and if the androids had taught him anything at all during their reign of terror was to always be on guard and expect the unexpected. Before he got too worked up, he made the mental decision that he could not be angry anymore, there was no point. He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, with it went his anger.

The feeling that was left behind was emptiness. What was his purpose in life? After having saved his world, having peace and a hope for a better life, what was there? He had his mother to look after, but one day she wouldn't be there anymore, then what? Maybe the real reason why he was back here was to find clues to an answer to those lingering questions. When he let himself think for too long in times like this, the void in his heart made him ache. He had to keep moving, doing something to distract himself.

Focusing his attentions back to what he needed to do to escape from his own demons, he went to his mental drawing board to figure out a plan to what came next and prepared to leave planet Trade. Once back on planet 79, stationed at a remote location, he set up camp in a mountainous region. He encapsulated the ship and released a capsule house. Now that he was fully tapped into the base, through visual and audio, he had no need to step foot in there. The tyrant's face angered him. He didn't know if he'd be able to refrain from destroying the evil little shit if he were to run into him. After what he'd done to his father, what he made him do, he couldn't help but blame him for many of the things that were wrong with the man.

* * *

In his room, Vegeta sat at his desk tapping his scouter, checking in with the tracker to make sure he hadn't lost connection. Sure enough, there was indication that the boy's ship left Trade shortly after he did, and landed on 79. The signal led him to coordinates out in the middle of nowhere on the planet and then abruptly cut out. He stopped tapping the buttons and placed both hands on his desk balled up into painful fists. He was livid. One, he was certain now that the boy was following him, and two he must've noticed that massive bulky tracker on his ship and destroyed it. It couldn't be a coincidence, now the question was, did someone set him up to spy on him, or was this kid doing it on his own accord. He had to be on guard more than ever until he got to the bottom of it. It just confirmed what he already knew, that he could trust no one and there was always someone out for his blood.

He'd have Nappa be on guard. There was also the option of enlisting Raditz, but as quick as that thought arose, he abandoned the possibility. The third class had proven his loyalty, so it was not the issue, but rather that he found him to behave differently to the way he remembered saiyans acting. It was as if he was soft and all it took was enough prying to break his shell. It made him uncomfortable to think of it and so he avoided him in a sense. He just couldn't relate. When they were back on planet Trade, he didn't miss the way he was unusually soft around the woman. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't blind, the girl was attractive and she smelled...pleasant, but those weren't grounds to behave the way he did. However, right now she had proven herself to be useful so whatever was going on with Raditz didn't concern him at the moment. There was more work for her to do on his behalf.

* * *

Days turned into weeks and before he knew it, he had been living in that remote capsule house for two months. It felt like much longer to him. He'd spent every day in solitude watching his father, listening to the saiyans and learning all about their nature. In those two months, he got to know his father better than he did in that year they spent together in the time chamber. Yes, he was violating his privacy but he had to know him because he'd never get the chance once he returned and stayed in his timeline. The realization had hit him like a ton of bricks and he had felt a surge of conviction to his mission.

This version of his father was tormented and yet far more capable of dealing with the mental anguish than his older self. He wasn't sure if it was due to his age or if something more had happened to him in the years to come to break him down to the point of no return. Here, in the moment, he felt his father's pain. He witnessed the constant humiliation he experienced at the hands of those stronger than him. He saw him painfully take beatings and walk away with a broken body and pride. Sometimes Trunks could barely restrain himself from going over to save his father and take away the source of his pain. Pain he himself had experienced with the androids. Being so weak that no matter what you did, it was all for nothing, because at the end of the day they could squash you like a bug.

But he'd at least had love from his mother and Gohan who was like a brother, father and mentor all at once to him. His dear mother never gave up hope and believed in them every step of the way. His father had no such thing in his life. Nappa supported him and truly believed in his prince but the bond wasn't there. While Nappa seemed to care for him, his father didn't reciprocate the feelings. He was alone in this world and he had closed himself off to everyone.

He saw his obsessive nature, he'd known him to train until his body broke, but here he did that and more. Vegeta seemed to be plotting of ways to sneak off and take out Frieza's generals one by one. Trunks knew it consumed him because on the days where he did see his father catch some sleep, he tossed and turned and shook uncontrollably.

Today was different, Frieza summoned Vegeta. He saw him walk into the tyrant's quarters with a stern dejected look and after a few minutes, he came out of there looking like he had just won the lottery. He had his menacing grin in full display, heading towards the two other saiyans.

"I'm going on a long term mission that Frieza is overseeing. I'll be leaving tomorrow, but if the purge goes well, I'll be paid for the last mission and our ban will be lifted." Vegeta was itching to leave.

Trunks watched and listened, his conflicted feelings rising to a head. The idea of his father being this excited about going on a purge didn't fail to make him upset. He hated thinking of his father in that way. Then, there was the part of him that tried to be understanding, and he wondered if this was his way of releasing his frustrations. He couldn't fully come to understand. It wasn't something he could ever truly justify doing, but he was not his father and he did not live his life.

He wouldn't follow his father this time. He had already seen too much of his darker side and he'd rather not become involved in witnessing the atrocities that would come with purging missions. His state of mind wasn't where it should be to allow himself to be involved. Seeing his father's pain, and living alone without any form of contact with the outside world was making him homesick. It made his own demons more powerful, it made his own pain stronger. Being so near to a base of beings that committed genocide and living on a planet that looked like death, made him realize he needed to break it up before it broke him down.

He reasoned this was the right time to go check in on Goku and his mother. At least being in the familiarity of Earth would help ease his state of mind. At least he wasn't worried about being able to find his father. After having hacked into all their systems in his spare time the past two months, he'd be able to track his father's movements no matter where he was. As long as it was on official business and his father was not disabling the tracker on his ship, he was certain to find him again when he was ready. Confident in his logic, it was decided, his new destination: earth.


	6. Faster Than the Speed of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vegeta and Tights worked on Trackers and Trunks is on his way to earth, what could possibly go wrong?

Landing on earth brought him a sense of peace. It wasn’t his home, the timeline wasn’t right, but the familiar landscapes eased his mind. His father lived in a dark and twisted world, and seeing the planet’s radiant beauty was a breath of fresh air. Even though he’d landed in a rugged desert like terrain, the serenity of the night, without PTO pods lifting off at all times allowed him to appreciate the stars and the coolness of the night. He inhaled and stared off to space. He admired the constellations for a brief few minutes to decompress his mind before he began working out his new but less complicated mission here on Earth.

There was nothing like being on earth, so full of life and mysteries waiting to be discovered. He smiled to himself, because finally, he felt free. And with freedom came a hint of guilt. _Father_. His father was still out there, destined to spend the next 10 years of his life as a slave to the worst kind of creature to dawn the universe. He shook his head, there he went again, indulging in the darkest of thoughts. He needed to keep moving to derail his thoughts to a more stable place. So in the morning, after he had set up his capsule house, he made his way to his mother.

He sensed them nearby, and he positioned himself about half mile uphill from the path where they were walking. Goku, his mother, and Oolong were happily pacing along chatting about nonsense, it put a smile on his face to see his mother so full of life, youthful, carefree, and with a happiness that he couldn’t explain but could only feel radiating off of her. Even his young mother, shortly before he was born, didn’t give off that air, it was too late by then, she had already seen too much, lived through too much. The weight of the world was already on her shoulders. And Goku, that man never changed, he even dared to challenge that his carefree nature was one of his super powers. He envied that, because he couldn’t understand how someone could go through life that way.

Trunks continued following them from up high at a distance, he watched from afar as they made their trek. As he continued his path, a little ways downhill, hidden by a rock formation away from the sight of the young crew, but perfectly aligned with his line of sight, he spotted two inconspicuous individuals pointing an artillery gun at the unsuspecting trio. There was no mistaking it, positioning himself directly behind the suspicious individuals, he knew the trajectory of the bullets. He was aware that even as his weak younger self, Goku was immune to ammunition, but his mother was another story. She was weak and fragile. Trunks grew worried, if this had already happened in the past then that meant his mother somehow survived, but this was now, he began to doubt himself and how much of a ripple effect his presence had on the timeline, that if maybe just by just being there things had changed. A twist of doubt knotted his stomach. Watching the girl with the soviet uniform closely, he saw her put a gloved finger through the trigger and make a motion to shoot. At that moment all rational thought vanished, acting on pure instinct to save his mother like he always did, he couldn’t stop himself. He reappeared beside the two and with one swift motion smashed the weapon into oblivion. His pale blue eyes met hers, and he saw terror in them. She didn’t move, and it only took half a second of her hesitating for one of the many flying scraps of metal from the crushed artillery gun to hit her leg. The shock, fear, pain flooded her features, overwhelming her senses until it all went black. 

_Damn it!_ He couldn’t stop making mistakes! He was so blinded by his need to protect his mother that he unintentionally injured this woman. All he wanted to do was teach them a lesson. Briefly he looked down the path, and despite the commotion of the crushed weaponry the trio continued in peace chatting away. He looked down in front of him to the scene that required his immediate attention and caught sight of the dog person that accompanied the woman fleeing the scene, leaving his wounded friend behind. Trunks grimaced, and he instantly felt like a bad person even though they were the ones attempting to hurt the ones he cared for. Kneeling beside the unconscious woman, he took a look at her bleeding leg. Not wanting to risk her life, he tore a piece off his shirt and created a makeshift tourniquet. Scooping her up in his arms with care not to cause her anymore damage, he flew as quickly as he could to his capsule house to treat her injuries.

He laid her down on his bed and pulled out the first aid kit. Taking the scissors, he cut part of her pant leg to expose the injury. Carefully, he washed the dirt away and removed the piece of scrap metal, but as soon as he did so blood began gushing out and he saw her delicate face contort with pain. _Shit, shit, shit_. He would be damned if he’d be responsible for her death. He took out the cauterizing pen and began sealing off the broken vessels to control the bleeding. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for her, living in the dark times of the androids had exposed him to many wounded and he knew very well what he was doing, he just had to act fast. Finally with the bleeding controlled, he formed precise and uniform stitches and bandaged up her leg.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he stood above her, watching her sleeping form pondering what he’d do with her once she woke up.

* * *

Sitting alone and bored in her tiny little room, Tights sat at her desk with an open laptop staring at the ceiling and tapping her fingers in a continuous rhythm. Some days she doubted she’d ever go home. She’d been on planet trade for so long that she was beginning to forget what home looked like. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture the blue skies, the fresh air, the scent of flowers, and the sounds of the waves crashing against the sand. She’d do anything to see it again.

Interrupting her from her thoughts she heard a beep coming from her computer. Startled at sound, it took her a second to realize what it was indicating. _The tracker!_ She was aware it had been on the move for some time now, but up until this point she had no idea who it was tracking nor its destination. A few days prior when she realized it was headed for the quadrant of space where her beloved planet orbited she began to worry and had put markers on certain destinations, and if it were to stop or cross any of them, she would be notified. Tights knew that there was no use in worrying herself to death over it, so when the markers were set, she decided to put those ugly thoughts out of her head and opted to hope for the best and convinced herself that the spaceship navigating through that region was just an unfortunate coincidence. And oh was she proven wrong. To her complete and utter dismay, whoever was in that ship had landed on earth, out of all places.

There was no more waiting, hoping or planning. She was experiencing a sense of urgency unlike anything she’d ever felt and against her better judgment she decided on a course of action that while risky, would be the one to give her immediate results if it worked. She had to take that gamble, it was all or nothing at this point, because if Vegeta had attached that tracker to a PTO ship, her planet was doomed but she had to at least try. For her family’s sake, she needed to get there no matter the cost.

Focusing back on her computer she created and sent a message. _Raditz, please I need to see you, it’s urgent._ She waited impatiently for a response while her anxiety swallowed her from the inside out. Half an hour later of an agonizing wait, she felt she would cry when she saw the incoming video call from Raditz. With a shaky hand, she clicked to accept the call and watched as his face popped up on her screen.

“Well that was a cryptic way to get my attention.” He shot her a smirk to go along with his unconventional greeting, but when he took a better look at the little blonde’s pained look, his expression fell and he waited for her to speak.

“Please Raditz, I need to speak to you in person. Right now. Can you come see me?” Her voice was shaky and unstable.

He was shocked, he’d never seen her like this, she was always sassy and unaffected. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it back up again. She was being genuine and he worried that if he questioned her any further she’d break down in tears. He looked around the room focusing his thoughts thinking of how he’d get away without Nappa questioning him. Vegeta had been off with Frieza for a while now, so he was left under Nappa’s supervision and would have to answer to him about his absence. Deciding the older saiyan wouldn’t pose a problem he responded to her question.

“Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He realized his answer didn’t make things better, if anything she now looked even more worried.

“Okay.” Her eyes were distant, and without warning, the connection was closed.

Raditz was left alone with his thoughts, seriously wondering what was going on with her, she never closed the connection without saying goodbye or making some witty remark. He knew it was wrong, and he knew maybe it would be considered weak, but he was worried about her.

With a mix of curiosity and concern, he stood form his chair and rushed to find Napa at their living quarters. He took a deep breath and approached the older man.

“Napa, I’m heading to planet trade. My contact there has a new tracker prototype for me to bring back for Vegeta.” He tried his best to keep a straight face.

“Vegeta isn’t here, tell her to wait until he’s back.” He had a dismissive tone. Didn’t even turn to look at him.

Caught off guard, Raditz stuttered before answering. “There’s a problem, she needs some parts to put the finishing touches so it can be ready for when Vegeta gets here.”

He didn’t think he looked or acted particularly nervous but somehow Nappa caught on that something was amiss. “Cut the crap, why are you really going?”

And this time he really couldn’t hide the surprise on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. She made a deal with Vegeta, She’s following through and I’m her contact.”

“Right.” Nappa didn’t say anything more, but he could tell that he was suspicious.

Unfortunately he had to tell Tights he had just roped her into creating a new prototype for a tracker to cover up his outing to planet Trade. He took off quickly and within an hour he was landing and heading over to her room. He could hardly call that place living quarters, it was barely even more than a box. 

Standing at the door, he knocked once and before he could knock again the door slid open to reveal a frantic Tights. She grabbed him by both arms, dragged him inside as the door slid closed again. She didn’t let go of his arms, instead she slid them further up his biceps and took a step closer to where she was completely invading his personal space. Feeling a trickle of sweat coming on, he swallowed hard uncomfortable with the liberties she was taking. Females just didn’t behave this way around PTO soldiers, what was she thinking?

“Raditz, I don’t know how you’ll react or what you’ll say to me but I’m out of options.” She paused for a moment to gauge his reaction and when he remained stiff as a board she continued her spiel. “That first tracker I gave to Vegeta, who’s ship was it on?” She needed to know.

“Vegeta doesn’t confide those things in me, if you haven’t noticed, when we were here together, I’m not exactly first choice.” He honestly had no idea where that tracker went, he didn’t even know it had been placed anywhere. It was irritating for him to find out now that there was something going on and he hadn’t even been given a hint. He was always the last to know, always the last to be notified, the level of disregard for him was unbelievable. They were the last of their race and not even that stopped Vegeta and Nappa from looking down at him.

“Well…” She choked down some tears, “That tracker just landed on my home planet.”

Raditz sighed. He knew what that meant, obviously Vegeta had put the tracker on a PTO pod, which meant whoever was in it had just been sent on a purging mission. There was no other explanation. “You know what that means right?” For him purges were a fact of life, his race was wiped out, so he was hardened to feeling any sort of compassion for the race’s impending doom.

“I do, and that’s why I need your help. I need to get there, please. Even if they’re all gone… even if it’s too late, I need to be there!” Her voice was cracking. Whatever small hope she had of seeing her planet again was being shattered, if going there to pick up the pieces was all she could do, then she’d do it. She owed her family that much.

He sighed again. “What do you want me to do? I’m not in any position to help you.”

“Can’t you request a mission in that quadrant? Take a little detour to drop me off? I can disable the trackers remember? They’d never know!” It was selfish of her, completely and utterly selfish, suggesting he take on a purge and wipe out another race just for the possibility of seeing hers one last time.

“That’s not possible. Only Vegeta can do that. Tights, you need to face it. They’re gone, it’s over. It happened to me, it happened to most of us that are serving under Frieza. This is life and we all have to deal with it.” He couldn’t understand her emotions, he had been in her shoes, then proceeded to become a soldier that continued the cycle of destruction. Kill or be killed. He worried for her, even though he knew he shouldn’t but just because he cared for her in some small way didn’t mean he could understand her despair.

She let go of him defeated, letting out a small sob, but quickly holding it back in. She sat in front of her computer and pulled up the star chart. He could see the red mark indicating where the pod had landed. Standing behind her, his eyes went from her to the screen contemplating what to say or do next. And when he looked back to the screen something clicked in his head. A light went on and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He took to one knee and was eye level with her screen confirming what he was thinking.

“My brother.” Raditz said almost inaudibly.

“What?” She looked at him wide eyed, unsure of what he said.

“My brother was sent to that planet on a purge.” He raised an eyebrow confused at what this meant.

“Now?!” 

“No, no, years ago… It was around the age I hit my growth spurt. If you’re alive, then that means he never completed his mission.”

“So what does that mean? You’ll take me?” Her eyes filled with hope, she wanted to know why her people had been spared and why now was someone being sent to finish the job. Maybe, just maybe there was a chance.

“This gives going there a whole new purpose. I need to talk to Vegeta.” He knew if he was to come back and not be killed, he had to let the prince know what he was planning to do.

* * *

Vegeta had just completed their latest purge. The power levels on the planet were nothing alone, but their number combined with higher than average levels proved to be exhausting. He now realized why Frieza had only selected him to come. The other saiyans were too weak, they would have been outclassed and useless. He was standing now in Frieza’s chambers. The tyrant liked to keep him around for reasons he didn’t fully understand. He never did anything other than listen to Frieza ramble on about how expansive and magnificent his empire was. Vegeta swallowed his pride and took in the back handed compliments, and in the middle of one of those unnecessary speeches, Vegeta’s tracker began to beep, distracting him, taking away his attention from the narcissistic lord. 

“Now Vegeta, who is interrupting our lovely conversation?” His eyes were cold and demanding.

“No one my Lord, the scouter is malfunctioning.” Vegeta tapped at it to mute away the sound. He had lied to Frieza, he had just received a notification that the tracker had made a stop. He’d been watching it on the move for some time now, but his missions with the tyrant didn’t allow him any time to get away and follow the individual. He had resolved that as soon as he could catch up to him, he would. He was aware that he was giving that person too much attention, but something about his scent and the way he had been following him set him off. Vegeta decided he wouldn’t rest until he found out why.

Frieza took in a deep breath and exhaled while watching his pet monkey closely. “My dear little monkey, if we still had the other technicians doing the builds and repairs, the scouters would still be working, but as you know I had to teach them a lesson. Being good at what I need you to do won’t save you. Everyone is disposable.” He smirked at Vegeta, staring at him intensely.

“Yes Lord Frieza, I understand. “ The air felt thick, and Vegeta could see the real meaning of his words. He felt that they were indirectly pointed at him. It was always mind games where Frieza would belittle him and make him feel small and insecure

Frieza continued swishing the wine around in his glass nonchalantly.

“If there is anything you need me for.” He bowed a little and waited for a response. The mission was over and he needed to step away, he was done spending time with the space tyrant.

“No, you’re dismissed. We’re done here.”

Vegeta finished vowing and walked out of there with urgency. As he made his way to his quarters, his scouter began beeping again. _Raditz_. It was unusual receiving a call from him, there was never any reason for them communicate, he always left Nappa in charge of business. He finished entering his quarters for privacy to take the call.

“Raditz.” He said in a cool tone.

“Vegeta, I have a request to make. I just found out my younger brother may be alive. I’m requesting for you to allow to go find him.” 

“Kakkarot?” he was surprised, he hadn’t thought of Raditz’s family or any other saiyan since his planet was destroyed. The only other saiyan he knew of that was alive was his own brother Tarble. But he didn’t care for him, he was ashamed of him and undeserving of saiyan blood due to his weakness.

“Yes, he may be alive, I think he’s stranded. I know the climate in the PTO, I think we could use another saiyan on our side.” He tried to sound convincing hoping Vegeta would bite.

“Hah. And what would another third class be able to do?” He scoffed at the idea that Raditz’s brother, of all people, could possibly make a difference.

“I’m sorry Vegeta, it was just an idea.” The disappointment dripped through his voice. 

“Do what you want Raditz, but if you miss out on missions, it’s not my problem. Notify me when you arrive at your destination and when you’re expected to be back.” He really didn’t care about the third class or what he did, he was mostly useless to him anyway.

“Yes of course, thank you Vegeta.”

Vegeta tapped at that scouter to end the connection. All he had to do now was wait for Frieza’s ship to make its way back to Planet 79 where he could pick up his pod and be on his way. He’d strayed before, Frieza would be furious and punish him when he got back, but he didn’t care about that either. He was his own man even if the tyrant didn’t see it that way.

* * *

“Alright, it’s all settled. We can get going.” Raditz felt relieved that Vegeta hadn’t made a fuss about it. He wouldn’t have risked asking him, but realizing that his brother was still alive gave him the push he needed.

Tights had her crossbody bag loaded up with everything she could fit in there. Her most prized possession, the PTO pod schematic book, tucked away safely along with a couple of other trinkets.

“Ok lets go.” She knew this was the last time she would see this place, this planet. Regardless of what was waiting for her back home she’d find a way to get to Jaco, the strange alien man was quite possibly the only person left for her.

She led the way to the landing and waited for him to point out which one belonged to him. Stepping in front of her pointing his remote, one of the pods door lifted open, and he walked ahead to sit inside. She stood in front of the pod looking at him, looking at the seat then back at him.

“How will we fit?” He was such a big man there was barely any room left.

“Here.” He motioned for her to give him her satchel. He opened a compartment on the seat to tuck away. Scooting over as much as he could, there was a small seat left for her to squeeze into.

Hesitantly, she walked over and used the sides of the pod as leverage to get in. Just as she thought, slim as she was, she didn’t fit. Half of her bottom was on his leg, the other half on the seat. He closed the pod’s door and she felt more cramped than before. She could sense he was beginning to feel the discomfort too from the way he tried and failed to reposition himself. Tights dared a look at him, their eyes met and lingered. A blush crept to her cheeks and she could see he was swallowing hard. She wasn’t a young girl anymore, she was a grown woman that knew what it was like to be with a man, but somehow this saiyan made her nervous, made her feel like a teenager with sweaty palms all over again.

“You won’t feel the discomfort. We’ll be knocked out soon.” He did his best to ease the awkwardness of the situation. There was no denying it, he was attracted to her and he was glad that this journey would be spent with both of them unconscious.

She nodded lightly and did her best to keep a calm demeanor until sleep came.


	7. Trust Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raditz and Tights are on their way to Earth. Trunks unwittingly injured Mai, what ever will he do now?

The pain was unbearable. Her entire leg was pulsing with sharp stinging sensations running from her calf racing their way up to her head with a bang. She tried to open her eyes but everything around her looked like a blurry mess, it felt as if lead weights were hanging onto her lashes, dragging them shut once more. _What happened_? She remembered she was on mission with Shu, orders given out by emperor Pilaf, but after that, it was like a forgotten dream, so close to remembering but slipping away as soon as she tried to recall the details. She attempted to roll over and instantly the shock of pain made her eyes shoot open, triggering the memories to flash before her eyes like clips from a movie screen. _That’s right, I was injured by the shattered artillery gun! And that guy! But where am I now?_ With much effort she sat herself up on the bed and looked around the room. It was a modest abode, the walls were bare and the room was sparsely furnished with minimalist designs. She wasn’t at the palace, that’s for sure, but had Shu rescued her and brought her somewhere? Doing her to best get up off the bed without putting any weight on her weakened leg, she leaned on the bed post and made her way along the wall to the doorway. Cautiously, she opened the door and the sight her that greeted her scared her half to death. Feeling as if blood had drained from her face, her legs had turned to gelatin and her knees buckled beneath her weight.

“Stay away!” She yelped. The adrenaline rush kicking in, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. On reflex, she threw herself back with force she didn’t know she had and landed on her butt, barely stabilizing her fall with the palms of her hands pressing on the carpeted floor.

“I mean you no harm.” He said, putting his hands up while slowly creeping up to her like a hunter to its prey.

“No no, no!” If he wasn’t planning on killing her now, she’d surely die of fear, her heart was racing making it harder for her to breathe, each inhale making her feel light headed. He was the one who’d attacked her, and now here he was no doubt, holding her hostage. With her stupid useless leg not cooperating, all she could manage to do was push with her good one, dragging herself backwards into the room. This was bad, there was no way she could lose him, she took a glance behind her confirming there were no other doors to escape from.

He didn’t stop, he kept coming with a concerned look on his face. _Why is he looking at me like that? He’s the one responsible for this._ It was throwing her off and confusing her senses, his face was kind and disarming but the memories, the fear she felt gripped at her stomach making her weak. Now just a mere foot away from her, he crouched down to a squat and held out his hand.

“You’ll hurt yourself, let me help you back to bed.” His voice was gentle as he continued to reach for her.

“I said stay away!” She shrieked. No matter how softly he spoke to her, this had to be some kind of trap. She continued to drag her body back away from him until he gave up and dropped his hand. Instead he just stayed there in a squat position staring at her.

“And I told you I mean no harm. I’m sorry about what happened to your leg, that was an accident. I was only trying to protect my m—“ He stopped himself before he could finish the sentence. “I was trying to protect the innocent people you were going to hurt.”

“They have something that belongs to my master, I was just trying to get it back!” He wouldn’t stop looking at her, remaining still, as if waiting for her to make a mistake before he would make his move. She was shaking in her…boots. _BOOTS_! She couldn’t feel them, looking down at her feet she confirmed her suspicions, they were gone. What had he done to her?

“Where are my boots? Did you…Did you touch me?!” Tears forming in her eyes, she choked out the words, fearing the worst.

He was so taken aback by her accusation that he lost his balance and fell flat on his butt, matching her current position. “What…What’re you insinuating? Of course not, I’d never do such a thing… no, not like that, I mean only to cure your wound, you could’ve died.” He was stumbling over his words. Insulted and bewildered by the realization that she thought the worst of him, he could hardly answer her coherently. 

His face looked like that of a wounded young child, a pained look etching on his features that sent a wave of embarrassment up to her face coloring it beet red, making her feel ashamed she’d accused him of such a thing. She turned her head sideways no longer being able to face him. 

“Dying because of you.” She said in a barely intelligible voice.

His features relaxing and softening, he dropped his gaze contemplating her words. Yes technically it was his fault, but she was equally at fault for what she was attempting to do. Just for this one time, he’d let it go and take the fall if it’d make her trust him enough to get her healthy and have her be on her way so he too could resume his mission.

“Yes, I know and I said I was sorry. I only meant to take out your weapon to stop you from hurting others, I didn’t mean to hurt you in the process. That’s why I’m trying to help you, to make things right.” And to convince her to promise him she wouldn’t make another attempt like that again.

She still didn’t look at him, but if she really thought about it, if she suppressed her fear and jogged her mind, she knew he was right. He had plenty of opportunity to hurt her after the fact, but he hadn’t. Instead he’d bandaged her leg and brought her to comfortable place to let her heal. She didn’t want to admit it, but yes they were planning on hurting those people, but sometimes you had to do a little bad for the greater good. They were doing it for their emperor. Although the little man was quite eccentric, she believed that he was inherently good and meant no harm. He had dreams of constructing a prosperous empire, and after he’d given her a home and job with a purpose when no else would, she firmly believed in the man. She was a defector from the army and had nowhere to turn, until he had offered a way out of her rut. And because of what he had done for her, she vowed to help him achieve his goal.

“Ok…” She’d let him help her, there weren’t really any other choices anyway and so far he seemed to be remorseful for what he’d done to her.

“What?” He looked like he wasn’t quite comprehending what she was saying to him, almost like he didn’t believe she had decided to concede to him. To trust him.

“I said ok. I’ll be useless in this state anyway.” 

She looked exhausted, as if all the trembling before she had come to her senses had worn her out. Trunks felt bad for her, she was just a girl, and he knew how it looked from her perspective, so he decided to try and be as gentle as he could. Again, he held out his hand, this time waiting for her to take it when she was ready, and to his delight she held hers out and accepted his help. He lifted her off the floor until she was balancing on her good leg. Acting as a crutch, he circled an arm around her waist bring her close. As his hand pressed against her torso, she gasped and he felt her jolt at his sudden move. 

Worried he’d hurt her, he loosened his hold a little and turned his head to look her in the eye. “Did I hurt you?”

Abashed by the closeness, of this seemingly dangerous but handsome young man, she only managed to look at him for a moment before turning away, face flushed for the second time that day.

But in that instance, their eyes had met, and for the first time he really looked at her. Her perfectly almond shaped eyes were the darkest shade of blue, like the deepest part of a stormy ocean, captivating him and swallowing him into their depths. He turned away too, mirroring her blush and suddenly feeling as uncomfortable as her by the closeness of the strange girl he had unwittingly injured. Each step felt eternal as his face and fingers felt like they were on fire as they made their way to the bed. He was glad when he was able to set her down so he could be on his way.

After positioning her legs on the bed, his eyes wandered back over to her face, giving small shy smile. She felt the blush grow stronger the moment he made eye contact. Feeling a trickle of embarrassment, she was mentally lecturing herself to get a grip, just because he was handsome didn't change the fact of what he'd done. It didn't matter if he was being kind to her, she still didn't know him or anything about him, not even his name. 

But still, he was being so attentive to her, it was unusual. She never received such treatment from anyone, not from back when she was still with her family, not in the army, and especially not now with Shu and emperor Pilaf. What was his deal? _His guilt must be eating him up if he's treating me like this, there's no way he acts like this all the time. _

"Hey I’ll be out in the living room so you can get some rest. If you need anything just call out to me." When she glanced his way she noticed he was avoiding eye contact as well. At first she couldn't understand why, but as she let her eyes linger a moment longer on his face she noticed the light hint of pink on his cheeks. She supposed this maybe was as awkward for him as it was for her. 

Snapping out of her thoughts, "Wait!” She called out, just as he was about to shut the door. 

"What's up?" 

"How can I call out to you if you didn't tell me your name?" In all their back and forth neither of them had been keen on introducing themselves. 

He was pensive, taking a little too long to answer a simple question. But in the end whatever it was he was contemplating seemed to have been decided.

"Trunks." He seemed to offer it up quite reluctantly. _What harm could it do?_ He reasoned. 

He was about the shut the door again, ready to leave the uncomfortable exchange when he realized he was being rude. “And yours?" 

“It's Mai" she said softly. 

"Well Mai, sorry we are meeting under such circumstances." And with that, he gave another half smile and finally left the room leaving her to focus on her thoughts.

* * *

He’d spent the night tossing and turning, reaching out his senses, using Goku as a beacon to feel out where the crew was traveling to. He hadn’t anticipated having to nurse someone back to health. He hadn’t anticipated many things on this trip. It’s like a dark cloud followed him and stormed up a mess wherever he went, he couldn’t escape it, he knew that now, so instead he was learning to deal with it. Accepting it and doing what he could to pick up the pieces.

The girl… he hadn’t really noticed her when he attacked, or when he carried her, or even when he tended to her wound. But, back in that room when their arguing was over, he realized how beautiful she was: Her delicate face, flawless smooth skin, striking eyes, and her soft silky hair was like fine velvet to the touch. After spending months at the PTO base, and only seeing unfamiliar masculine faces day in and day out, seeing her was a sight for sore eyes and had him feeling a certain way. It made him uneasy to admit, because in reality, back in his time she was probably already dead, or much older than him, by the looks of it a couple years older than his mother. 

An ache and a loud grumbling noise brought him back to reality. _Right, breakfast_. His saiyan appetite was a killer and one of the things that he missed most was letting the glutton in him make an appearance. Since he was back on earth he wouldn’t have to ration his food and so this morning he would splurge and worry about resupplying his stash on the next day.

He cooked up the largest breakfast he’d seen in a while and made his way to the bedroom after he finished setting the table for two. Giving two light knocks at the door, he called out her name, “Mai?” and waited for a response. Nothing. Silence.

“Mai? I made breakfast.” He called out her name again, standing still at the door.

He was beginning to worry that something was wrong when the door opened abruptly, startling him a bit only to reveal a disheveled Mai with hair looking like tangled mess. She gasped at the sight of him, and accidentally let go of the wall that was keeping her balanced. She found herself tumbling backwards, that is, until a strong hand firmly gripped at her bicep keeping her up on her feet.

“If you want to get up you should tell me, I can help you.” The sincerity in this stranger’s eyes was comforting, it made her want to believe him and trust him, but she was fighting her instincts and allowing her mind to taint the feeling until… _until what?_ She didn’t know. She just wanted to recover and get back to her life.

“I can walk on my own, you just scared me is all.” She was lying, it hurt like hell to take a step. Every time she made a mistake and relied on her injured leg, the agonizing pain would remind her that she was in no condition to be going anywhere at this time.

“It’s the least I can do.” Meeting her gaze while still holding onto her arm, that sensation returned, the heat in his fingers rising up to his face. What was wrong with him? He was acting like he’d never seen a female before. There was something about her that intrigued him. It wasn’t just the way she looked, he’d seen beautiful women, but instead something about her aura, about her eyes that gripped him. Despite her actions, she seemed so innocent and untainted, something that didn’t exist in the eyes of the girls back home. Just like him, going to hell and back in their world had taken a part of them that they could never get back.

She didn’t say a word, dropping her head and letting her long silky black hair fall at her sides to conceal her face. Feeling ashamed to look up, she quietly let him lead her to the table he’d set. Mai sat in her chair, still refusing to lift her gaze and focused her attentions completely on the plate in front of her. Her behavior didn’t go unnoticed. In fact, Trunks was beginning to wonder if she was still scared of him.

And so he offered the only thing he could think of to ease her nerves. “When we’re done with breakfast I could go out to the nearest city to get a car and take you back home.”

That did it, that caught her attention. As if someone had just poked her in the back, she jolted to attention and snapped her head right in his direction.

“The nearest city is a long ways away from here.” Mai was concerned, it would take days on foot to get there and that meant she’d be in his home on her own, defenseless until he got back. Not that she had decided that it was particularly safe being with him, but he seemed ok so far.

“Uhh… yeah. You’re right.” He didn’t want to give away that he was a freak of nature and could be back within minutes, so he went along with it. She was probably already scared enough of him after his display of power on her weapon. “So what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I can’t walk…Shu had our capsules, so I can’t drive myself back. Wait! Shu! What happened to Shu?” Giving him an accusatory look with a hint of anger she felt the tension in her body return, bringing her shoulders in and holding on to the fork in her hand so tight that she could feel the cool metal digging into her skin.

“Who’s Shu? Your partner?” He only saw the dog person with her that day, there was no one else around.

“Yes! What’d you do to him?” Her eyes didn’t let up and was glaring at him now. 

“I didn’t do anything, as soon as I destroyed the weapon he scrambled away and I didn’t see him again. Since it didn’t look like he was going to come back for you, I brought you here. I didn’t want your death on my conscience. Like I said, my intent wasn’t to hurt you, just to stop you.” Usually he carried a no nonsense attitude when dealing with an enemy, but he knew they were misguided weak earthlings so it was never in his plans to do them harm.

“What… what do you mean? He just left me?” The look of betrayal on her face made it hard to answer.

He nodded his response, feeling a responsible for her current state. He must’ve scared that little guy so much that he thought she was a goner and ran for his own life, thinking there was no hope in trying to save her.

“Oh.” She didn’t continue the conversation and instead changed the subject to block the feelings coming to surface. “I just need to heal so I can get back to emperor Pilaf, he needs my help. I’ll just be a burden if I go back like this.” She was stuck at the moment, she felt obliged to accept this strange young man’s help. Oh the irony, the assailant was now turning into her temporary caregiver. What an absolutely ridiculous predicament she found herself in. Inwardly she was laughing at the turn of events and how unbelievable it seemed.

“What is it?” He noticed she was smiling, but he hadn’t said anything funny and neither had she.

“Nothing… “ but the smile remained and it jumbled his insides, bringing forth a smile of his own to match hers.

“You know, you can stay here as long as you need. That is until you’re feeling well enough to travel back to your home.” Feeling like a preteen with googly eyes, Trunks cleared his throat and composed himself and began to do as she did and focused his attentions back on his plate.

“Until I’m better.” She answered.

“Yes.”

“Ok.”

They both went silent, not knowing how to react or behave next, feeling a little anxious about the upcoming days, the realization hitting her that she’d just entered an agreement with this stranger. Kami what would her mother think? She was a respectable young woman who had accidentally fallen into a position where she’d be cohabiting with this young man. It wasn’t appropriate and it wouldn’t look innocent to outsiders without context. She’d never tell a soul about this, not even Shu and emperor Pilaf. They wouldn’t have to know, she’d be back in full health ready for action before they knew what she’d been through. And Shu, well she’d have to teach him a lesson about solidarity. 


	8. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mai has accepted his help. Will they get along?

Vegeta was back at planet 79. He hadn’t missed it, he didn't miss any of the damned places he'd been. Hell, he didn't even miss his own home planet at this point of his life. As a child, he had resented the fact that his race had gone extinct, leaving him to be the prince of nothing, the future ruler of rubble. Pathetic. That day had changed his life forever, shifting his focus. In a sick way, it gave him purpose. No longer did he care about anything except for one thing, the power to exact his revenge. To be the strongest being that ever lived and finally take his rightful place that had been stolen from him. He wasn't beyond using unconventional means to achieve his goal, he was prepared to sacrifice anyone and anything to get to where he needed to be.

Some would think tracking the kid was like choosing to lose focus from his end all mission, but they were wrong. He had felt something coming from that boy. After years of abuse and hardships, he had learned to trust his gut. When Nappa told him about the kid, when he'd seen it himself, he just couldn't let it go. There was something that made him feel like he knew him, drawing him in, like he had seen him before. Being stalked by him only made him certain there was a connection of sorts. He was going to find him and make him talk in his favorite way: the hard way. Vegeta smirked at the thought.

"Nappa, I know where the boy went. Drop all upcoming missions, we’re going to his location instead and squeeze the truth out of him. If he is plotting against me, and has conspirators, I will make sure they are sorry they ever met me." He had made up his mind, and when Nappa questioned him, he began to feel irritated.

"Are you sure Vegeta? He's a just weakling, why are we going on a wild saibaman chase?"

Grunting, Vegeta reluctantly answered. "Because Nappa! I want answers, now let's get going or I'm leaving you behind."

"Vegeta," Nappa put a massive hand on the prince’s armored shoulder.

It took the younger Saiyan by surprise, the taller Saiyan never laid a hand on him

"My goal is your goal. For you to become the strongest. I don't want to be responsible if it turns out to be a waste of time since I pointed him out to you. You can't afford any setbacks."

He hated it when Nappa decided to act wise. He just wanted to order him around like a brainless brute but sometimes he made it hard to do that. Vegeta stood there for a second, nodded in response with a grunt and continued walking to the docking area with Nappa trailing close behind.

* * *

This was the first time in his life where he shared a home with a woman who wasn't his mother. Especially in the capsule home, his little oasis. It was strange to him because the only thing he knew about her was her name. No matter how pleasing she was to look at, he wanted this arrangement to end as quickly as possible. He had things to do and places to be, and with her presence it made things difficult. The first couple days had been rough, he'd spent a good portion of his time showing he meant no ill will; offering her food and even offering to take her home. It had worked to an extent because now, it seemed she had dropped her combative attitude and was much more shy and reserved. Pleasant almost.

She had come out of her room in hopes of asking to watch TV because she was bored out of her mind. With limited mobility and out of her element, she was forced to sit around and do nothing, and for someone who was always on the go, running from one place to another, it made her antsy. She hoped that at least she'd be able to distract her mind with brainless TV shows.

Before she voiced her request she looked at him curiously. The young man's lilac brows were furrowed staring hard at nothing in particular, sitting stiff as a board. Maybe she would be doing him a favor by turning on the TV.

"Trunks?" She called out softly from the doorway.

He wasn't doing anything with his day, he was out of range to check on his father, and all he could do was track Goku and his mother. He was sitting on the couch concentrating hard doing just that, following the energies closely and focusing on their path when Mai had stepped out and startled him.

"Hmm?" His shoulders tensed a little at her voice, bringing him out of his trance. "Oh hey Mai." He wasn't expecting her to come out of her room just yet, it wasn't dinner time and so far she had refused his help with her bandages.

"I think if I spend another moment in silence I'll go crazy. I was hoping to watch some TV to kill time."

"I know the feeling." He gave her a wide smile, one of understanding, because he too was dying for something to do. He wanted to train, he wanted to investigate, anything than just sitting around, so it was only natural for her to be in a similar state of mind. By the looks of her mission, it seemed to him she led quite the eventful, exciting lifestyle.

She felt her lips twitch at the sight of his welcoming smile, but suppressed the urge to return the gesture and averted her eyes to avoid looking at him. Instead, she made her way over, using the wall and random furniture as support to hold her weight. Seeing her struggle, Trunks stood up in a flash and was next to her tugging at her arm to assist her way over to the couch. As if scared by his touch, she retreated a little and stared at him blankly.

"I can do this on my own." She had her pride, and also, she didn't want him so close. Had he no concept of personal space? Sure she was being nicer to him since she knew they had to at least be civil if she was to spend the rest of her recovery time with him, but that didn't mean she wanted to get so close to the blue eyed young man. It wasn't appropriate.

"It doesn't look like it, the more you strain that leg, the longer it'll take to recover." _Common sense_, he thought. _She shouldn't be letting whatever reservations she has for me get in the way of getting better_.

He stood close by but he let her continue her ridiculous attempt at moving about the room. It was almost comical watching her search for the next piece of furniture to latch onto, she was like a kid looking for the next stone to skip to when crossing a river. Seeing there were no more stones to aid her crossing, she let out a sigh and looked at him with her head hanging slightly. Clearly she was annoyed that he was right, she needed help.

He bit the inside of his lip to hold back the smile that threatened to peek its way through his calm demeanor. He wanted to laugh, at how silly she was acting. He walked over wordlessly to keep her from any further humiliation, and took her arm again to lead her to the couch.

"Thanks." She said reluctantly.

Trunks nodded and sat down, leaving the middle seat open between them as he grabbed the remote from the table beside him. A flash of light brought to life the TV set and with the simple action of a push of a button, had his blood running cold as the images on the screen assaulted their sight. Regret, fear, panic swirling around in his chest and he felt his limbs go numb. _Oh, no, shit, shit, damn it!_

There, on the screen, violating her virgin eyes was a man and a woman doing the unthinkable, explicit actions that should only be viewed in the most intimate of situations.

"Oh for the love of kami," Mai shrieked and covered her eyes.

Barely regaining his senses, after the initial shock, a completely and utterly embarrassed Trunks shot up like a bullet to stand in front of the TV. His fingers were shaking, and he was fidgeting with the remote trying to figure out how to change the programming, only to realize he was drawing a blank on how to use it.

He gulped hard, trying to ignore the vulgarities on his TV until he finally switched it to some kind of soap opera where the people were in proper attire. Letting out all the air in his lungs at the relief of having resolved the crisis, he stood there frozen not daring to say a word. Yes yes he was guilty as hell... This was his bachelor pad and he rarely ever watched TV. The last time he could remember using it, he thought back with shame, was when he was indulging in his dirty little secret. It had been so long ago he had completely forgotten about it. And now this girl, she had just witnessed first hand his choice of private programming. Before, he could walk back to the couch he took a peek in her direction and saw her staring at him with her mouth slightly open. He wanted to look away but she held his gaze, telling of her second hand embarrassment for him and the disbelief that he so casually watched such things in his living room.

"You like to watch this stuff?" She raised an eyebrow, questioning his taste in programming.

"No..." His voice cracked. The guilty look on his face probably confirmed everything. He wanted the earth to swallow him up. He knew most guys weren’t ashamed of it and saw it as normal, but he was shy and he wanted to present himself as a gentleman. To make matters worse, she wasn't making it any easier to move past it with her accusatory looks.

"That's disgusting." She scooted further away from where he was about to sit and subconsciously wrapped her arms tight around herself. "Really, that?" She was still processing it. In the back of her mind she knew guys liked that kind of thing, but she didn’t want to confirm it! Relationships and intimacy were way out of her comfort zone. Completely inexperienced in the area, she usually preferred to run away from those situations, and would blush at any little hint of romance.

Trunks noticed the subtle movement and sighed. _Great... Now she thinks I'm a pervert like master Roshi_. Just when things were looking up and she seemed to somewhat tolerate him, there came his stormy cloud of bad luck. He wasn't dreaming it up, no one could possibly have that many fails with basically everything they did.

"No... It was... An accident." To his credit it was a partial lie, he'd accidentally left it on that programming but the watching part, well, that was intentional. In his defense, it wasn’t like he was some kind of addict. He was just normal young man with needs underneath it all. He didn’t mean any disrespect.

"Please don't be watching that while I'm here, have some respect for me, I'm a decent young woman."

"Yah, of course I never mistook you for anything else." He was trying to redeem himself and be as polite as possible.

She glanced at him sideways, he was sitting on his end of the couch stiffly waiting for her reaction_. I can't say my mother didn't warn me about boys_. It just took her by surprise, aside from his attack, which he claimed to have done for a noble reason, he seemed very respectful. He didn't strike her like the kind of guy who would be indulging in such things.

They sat there in an unbearably awkward silence for an hour, neither venturing to attempt at conversing after the unfortunate event with the TV. She regretted coming out there, she couldn't even really focus on what he'd put on with him sitting there, so she decided it was time to retreat. Seeing her shift and struggle her way, he walked over to her and held out his bent arm, offering it to her like a gentleman ready to escort a respectable lady. He was hoping she'd catch on to the symbolism, he was trying to be chivalrous, showing that indeed he may have dirty little secrets but it didn't mean he didn't know how to treat a lady.

Like all the other times she reluctantly took his arm, secretly appreciative of him offering and saving her the trouble of asking him for help.

Seeing her settled in, he was about to leave when he felt like he needed to clear the air. He was an honest person and he thought maybe if he explained himself things would run a little smoother. He stood by the door mentally preparing for the things he was about to spill.

"Mai?"

"Yeah?"

"About earlier," he began and watched as her eyes grew slightly wider and a hint of pink traveled to her cheeks.

"You know, I'm not a pervert or anything if that's what you're thinking. Sometimes men have," he paused thinking of the appropriate word to describe his predicament, "needs. And I don't have a wife or a girlfriend to help me... So I just take care of it myself, ya know?" That was one of the hardest sentences he'd ever uttered. Justifying his masturbation needs to a girl he barely knew? He'd laugh at the absurdity of the situation if he wasn't so nervous. He couldn't believe himself, he was actually talking about this. To her. To that beautiful shy girl that had been sleeping on his bed the past couple nights.

"Omg. Trunks please I don't need to know." She shook her head back and forth aggressively. Too much information, she wasn't interested in his reasons, she just didn't want to see that again.

"Right, sorry. Don't worry, it won't happen again." He took the hint and left the room before either of them passed out from the heat rushing to their heads, they were both furiously blushing by now. They couldn't seem to stop having that reaction around each other. Their inexperience around the opposite sex was blatantly obvious.

* * *

They didn't talk much the next couple days, they'd eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together but they were both still figuring out how to be around each other and after the little incident, Trunks noted that Mai had reverted back to how she behaved the first day. To respect her wishes, he had decided to leave the capsule house for a couple of hours a day and give her space on the pretense that he was going out to train.

She was sitting on the living room couch, having become addicted to the soap opera that he'd randomly put on that disastrous day. He eyed her for a second debating whether to interrupt and tell her he was on his way out. She was so engrossed in that show, he wasn't sure she'd even hear him. He finished strapping his sword to his chest and tied back his lilac hair.

"Hey I'm going out to train, I'll be back for dinner."

She paused her show and squinted her eyes at him.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking, I'm all alone, and this injury has left me defenseless. Can you at least give me a gun to take care of myself while you're away?" Realizing her mistake, she quickly corrected, "not that I'm implying I feel safe with you or anything."

Trunks chuckled at her words. She may be uncomfortable around him but one thing was for sure, he knew that she felt safe, she just didn't want to admit it.

"What's so funny?" She squinted her eyes again.

"Nothing, nothing." But the smile didn't fade. "I don't have any weapons here besides my sword."

"Right, because you don't need them." She pouted. She didn't feel right without her gun, she always had a weapon at her side and the past few days without it made her feel, naked.

"Hey, don't worry. If there's danger just scream and I'll be back here before you knew I was gone."

"You're not even in my line of sight, how can I expect you to be back that quick?" Oh great, she had just admitted to him she had been watching out for his return.

His smile grew wider. It's true, he wasn't anywhere near her. Actually he had been trailing Goku and his mother the few hours he was gone but he had memorized Mai's ki. He could read her energy like a book. He knew when she was calm and he also knew when she was upset by the instability of her aura. Being in such close quarters with not much to do made it impossible to ignore the changes in her. Any fluctuation indicating distress and he'd be right back.

"I'm close enough."

Skeptical, she decided she wasn't going to get anywhere so instead she had an idea. "Then at least let me borrow your sword. With that iron fist of yours, I'm sure you don't actually need it right?"

It was as if she had thrown a glass of cold water in his face. He stopped smiling and grew serious at her request. _Jeez, what's with him?_ She was certain she hadn’t said anything offensive.

"I can't. I'll be training, if you need me you know what to do." Turning on his heel, he stepped out the door leaving a confused Mai behind.

She watched him leave and wondered what was going through his mind. What was the meaning behind that sword? She wanted to say sorry, to ask what was wrong, but decided that he probably just needed his space.

How many days had it been? Her leg wasn't feeling any better, it confirmed her suspicions that the impact had fractured her bone, which meant she'd be there longer than she expected. She had resigned to staying there but now she had to do something to make it bearable. Without meaning to, she was sure she'd struck a nerve with Trunks and the last thing she wanted was to make things more uncomfortable than they already were. If they were going to be there together then maybe it wouldn't hurt to get to know him a little better. It could help pass the time, she had binge watched the soap opera and was nearing the end of it. She wasn't sure she'd find a title just as interesting, so why not give conversing with the handsome man in her presence a shot? She blushed at the thought of him. Being attracted but also feeling nervous about him was a rough combination of feelings that made her feel drained. She didn't want to be attracted to him, she wanted to be blind to that for sure, it didn't fit with the narrative in her mind.

Starting to feel cabin fever and the weight of how useless she felt she had become, she'd decided to make dinner. With nothing to hold on to she crawled on all fours reaching the fireplace. Had he been there to witness such a sight she would've felt humiliated that it had come to this, but she had made up her mind, whatever it took she was going to make it happen. Mai grabbed the little shovel from the fireplace set and used it as a cane to walk herself over to the kitchen. Yes, she could do this.

* * *

He wasn't angry at her in the least, the last time he'd let someone touch his sword was king Cold, but only for the briefest of moments. And then when 18 had broken it, he had picked up the pieces, repaired it and used it to go back home and slice away the monsters that had plagued his entire life. The sword, just like the time machine tied him to home and he'd been feeling a little sentimental about it. Spying on his young mother made his heart ache a little. The sight of her, no matter what timeline always did that to him. They were each other's rock, back home, it's all they had. He thought of his own mother and genuinely wanted to return to her. It made him rethink his self appointed mission and its true meaning. He sat in solitude embracing the silence, stared out at nothing, and began to question himself. Would all this be worth it? Would he truly find what he was seeking?


	9. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vegeta and Nappa are on their way to earth. Trunks embarrasses himself in front of Mai. Will he redeem himself?

He spotted them, there they were, two happy go lucky teens with the grumpy looking pig Oolong. They were not far from town, and seemed to be taking pit stops whenever possible. Out in the desert, places with any sign of civilization were few and far between, so he didn't blame for taking so many breaks. Oolong and his mother were sitting on a rock drinking refreshments while they watched little Goku perform a series of fluid and graceful motions with his power pole. 

Trunks noted his movements and observed his power level. The difference between Goku and his father was astounding at this point and time. Who could've imagined that this kid, who would've been powerless to defend himself against a saibaman, would become one of the strongest beings in the universe. And his father, who outclassed him in every way at the moment was fated to struggle to keep up with the younger Saiyan. Watching Goku was enlightening, the transformation in power was even more drastic than he thought. While he sat hidden from view in awe at the scene before him, it seemed that his mother couldn't disagree with him more.

"Are you done Goku? I'm tired of sitting here. I want to go into town to do some shopping." Bulma complained.

"Is that all you ever think about?" Oolong crossed his arms and snorted. 

"Shut up pig! I'll have you know that I'm shopping for something very important. And if I don't do the shopping for us, then who will? You sure won't!" 

"You're just a spoiled little girl." The pig retorted.

"And you're just a selfish pig." 

They were at each other's throats, fuming at the exchange. But fortunately for his mother, her wait was over.

"Guys...I'm hungry" Goku interrupted with a loud growl of the belly.

Bulma's anger deflated at the sight of the boy, who's eyelids had begun to droop from the hunger pains.

"Come on Goku let's get you something to eat." She was eager to get going, and Trunks suspected it wasn't only because she was happy to help Goku. 

Trunks watched at a distance as he had been doing for the past few days. And when they decided to walk into town, he did so as well, his groceries needed restocking anyway. 

The market they had arrived to was crowded enough to where he could keep close while hiding in plain sight. As he did his shopping, he witnessed the trio sit down to eat at one of the food stands. In typical Goku fashion, he ate like a vacuum, hardly chewing his food and ordering plate after plate to rid himself of the debilitating hunger. His mother sat next to the boy, barely touching her single order of food, resting her face in the palm of her hand as she watched in amazement at the amounts of food her little friend was consuming.

Remembering the other reason he was there in the first place, he turned around and resumed his shopping. As he picked up a sack of potatoes to add to his assortment of food to be stored in his capsule, he felt it... The energy was right behind him, familiar, warm, and dear to his heart, but right now it was too close for comfort. He kept his head down and his face turned away in hopes she'd go away and walk to another stand to shop at. But she didn't, she remained posted there, standing still. He didn't dare turn around for the fear of coming face to face. To his further dismay, she did what he dreaded most, she brushed past him, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with him while inspecting the fruits she was going to buy. 

Keeping his head down to where his bangs hid his face, he didn't dare look up. His eyes were locked on to the last item he was going to purchase and made a reach for it. To his horror, she reached for it seconds later and her small hand landed on top of his. He pulled it away as if he'd been burned and let her have the fruit. He just wanted to pay and get the hell out of there before she got a good look at him.

“Oops, sorry.” She said playfully.

“No worries,” he replied hurriedly. He didn't even turn her direction in the slightest and proceeded to pay his dues to the merchant. 

Seeing him so reserved, and maybe even shy, made Bulma giggle at his reaction to her accidental touch. Curious about his appearance, she leaned over to meet his face with a beaming smile to greet him. But instead of having the effect she desired, she had only startled him. He gasped and turned away from her again. _Wow he's really nervous around me_, she smiled mischievously. 

"Hey don't worry, I don't bite. You're really cute, shouldn't be hiding that face behind the hair," she kept smiling at him, temporarily postponing her shopping to chat with the mysterious stranger. 

Trunks had a sound coming from his throat that turned into nothing but a breath. He flinched at his mother's forward approach.

"Thanks," he said, turning abruptly away from her to leave, but before he could do so, he felt her hand on his skin again. _No mother! You can't do this_.

"Hey I noticed you back in the other town too... Maybe if you're going the same direction as us we can travel together." Bulma offered. 

His brows furrowed he thought back and he couldn’t figure it out, there was just no way. Sure he hadn't been exactly hiding but why would she pick him out from the crowd? He'd done nothing to draw attention to himself, he was just another face in the sea of people. Hell, he never even got close to them. 

"Uhh, I think you're mistaking me for someone else." He tore his arm away from her and took off before she could protest. He didn't look back as he sped away through the crowd, but he was sure he'd heard it, she was giggling, amused at his discomfort. _Oh mother if you only knew the truth you wouldn't be laughing._

* * *

Back at his capsule home, he practically crashed in through the front door, thoroughly startling a busy Mai. She jumped in her skin, instantly on guard, fearing someone had broken in. She held on to the counter with one hand and pointed her shovel towards the sound as one would do with a sword, standing her ground as firmly as her crippled leg could afford.

"Stop right there! I'm not afraid to use it!" She shut her eyes tight and waited for the worst to come. 

"Use what?" Trunks was a little winded, not from racing back home but from the adrenaline induced emotions.

Mai slowly opened her eyes, "Trunks?" 

"Yeah it's me, what're you doing?" He was leaning on the closed door looking at her with an eyebrow raised at the strange way of greeting him. 

"Just making dinner." She sighed with relief and set her shovel back down to resume her duties, trying her best to look cool and collected despite her jumpy reaction to his arrival. No one would be labeling her a coward today if she could help it. So she puttered around trying to relax her breathing and avoid eye contact for as long as possible.

"You don't have to do that." He said, choosing to humor her attempts at looking unfazed.

He watched intently as she navigated about the kitchen with a shovel as a makeshift cane. She looked to be working so hard, barely able to stand on her own and it made him forget for a bit about his previous encounter. Now all he could focus on was the girl in front of him and her efforts at being self sufficient. It made him a little sad to watch her struggle; it filled him with compassion and a sudden urge to fix it. 

Trunks crossed the room to the kitchen to where Mai stood, she was about to pick up a plate with her free hand when he grabbed the other end of it at the same time. They both froze their movements and looked at each other for a second.

“Let me.” He said.

Her hand let go of the plate and he nodded at her as a thank you for letting him do what he felt was right. With his other hand he took the other plate she had fixed up, which he presumed was his judging by portion size. Appreciative that she'd taken note of his rather large appetite, he set the plates down in their usual places. Taking his seat, he watched as she slowly hobbled over his way with the little shovel as support. 

He dropped his gaze, guilt tainting what would have otherwise been a pleasant moment. He’d been unobservant and thoughtless. He’d figure something out for her, she shouldn’t have to be hunching over a chimney shovel just to get around, it was ridiculous. 

“Thanks for taking over dinner.” He offered, trying to drown out his thoughts with conversation.

“Yeah, sitting on that couch and on the bed gets old.” She smiled at him thinking back to the plans she’d made of getting to know him.

Trunks reciprocated her smile with a wonky boyish one. She had never smiled at him first, he didn’t know what warranted the action but he felt warmth in his chest at the small gesture of friendliness. 

"You looked pretty entertained with that show of yours." He teased. That smile of hers gave him courage, so he figured he might as well test the waters.

"Much better than what you watch. You should give this other stuff a try instead." She could see he was goofing around, two could play at that game, and his reaction to her remark was worth it. The look on his face was priceless. She giggled at the way his face contorted, his wonky smile then transforming into nervous laughter.

"I don't always watch that... But maybe I will watch your show, if you can convince me." Joking about the awkwardness made him feel relief that maybe he’d been successful at proving to her that not only was he was a peaceful, decent person, but also definitely not a perv as he was sure probably crossed her mind.

"Hmm ok, sure I think I'm closing in on the grand finale." 

And so he listened intently as she excitedly recounted the events of the soap opera. Watching her pretty face light up was the only good thing that came out of sitting there listening to her explain what the show was all about. He was too polite to back out of watching the rest of it with her now, so he feigned interest and agreed to give it a try as she had suggested.

Trunks was lost in thought, barely registering what was happening on the screen, but kept her company regardless. He was thinking about the encounter with his mother. She’d noticed him, but at least he got away quick enough for the interaction to become insignificant. He was aware of the fact that his mother was somewhat boycrazy as a teenager and as a young woman, and so he figured that with the next cute guy she saw, she’d forget about him. In efforts to be more careful with his spying, he decided he’d no longer follow them out into towns, not like he’d been doing. Any observations would be done from afar as he had been doing before. Mostly, he was interested in watching Goku’s abilities anyway, and so far he was impressed by the leaps of progress he had done in such a short amount of time.

Keenly aware that he had lost interest long ago, Mai eyed him and shut off the TV.

“Trunks?” Mai said interrupting his analysis of the situation.

“Huh?” He’d been distracted, he wasn’t sure if she’d been speaking to him.

“Is this your home?” Luckily for him, she didn’t look irritated at him or anything like that so he figured maybe he hadn’t zoned out quite a badly as he thought.

“Yeah, it is,” A question with too obvious an answer made him believe she was taking a roundabout way to ask what she really wanted to know. “Why?”

“I mean, do you live here permanently, as in this area? Are you from here? Or what were you doing out here when…you know…” She leaned her head back on the seat rest and turned to fully face him.

“Oh. No, you can say I’m a traveler of sorts, I just happened to be around when you tried to…” He cut himself off just like she did. He didn’t want to bring it up again just as she hadn’t. It made him weary to link that event to their current state of being, it felt as if they were on the brink of a friendship and he believed that she, just as he, didn’t want to ruin that.

“Where are you traveling to?” Curiosity was blooming in her eyes.

“I guess it’s not really a place that I’m travelling to. I’m looking for something.” As much as he wanted to answer the questions in her mind, he just couldn’t. He had already risked enough by being there with her and even disclosing his real name.

“And what would that be?” She was prying, but he was peculiar case, someone who had the power to be a formidable enemy, but so gentle and nurturing that she’d never believe it if she hadn’t seen the stark contrast in his personality with her own eyes.

He sat there leaning back on his end of the couch, staring up at the ceiling searching his thoughts for the words that could explain his journey.

“I’m looking for,” he paused and looked into her eyes, hoping she could see in his the meaning of his words, “answers. There’s so much that I don’t know, things I’ve seen and lived through that I wish I could decipher. It’s…complicated. Sometimes, I’m not so sure I even understand what I’m looking for.”

She felt herself drawn into his eyes. His trusting gaze had a sadness so deeply ingrained that she could almost touch it. She nodded in understanding. Maybe she didn’t know the story behind the chaos of his mind, but she could understand what it was like to be with questions needing answers and not knowing where to go. When she first defected from the army, she was lost, without purpose in life. Going back home meant putting her family’s life in danger, so she searched and searched for a way of life until she found a cause to work for.

They'd been staring at each other for longer than necessary exchanging words without speaking, and when she realized they were sitting closer than normal she blushed and turned to face the TV. 

Trunks didn't look away even after she had abruptly cut eye contact, he continued to examine her features, noting the color in her cheeks. His lips turned upward into a discreet smile. 

"And you Mai, you talked about your master. You said you were getting something for him?" He wanted to keep talking to her, her presence had an oddly soothing effect on him, and he didn’t want her to retreat just yet.

"I can't tell you the details, but my partner and I were sent to retrieve specific items for him. Unfortunately, they’re not easy to come by so I’ve been traveling all over to retrieve them. Sometimes it feels like we’re on a goose chase, but I know we’ll be successful. We just have to work harder." The conviction in her voice convinced him she was truly determined complete her mission.

"It sounds, important, for you to go to such lengths." He was fishing for information, curious as to her motivations. 

"I believe in our cause. The emperor can be bossy and annoying but he has grand plans for the future and I'm doing my part." He was becoming more and more intrigued by her words.

"And what would that cause be?" 

"I don’t know if I should tell you,” she teased, “you might try to interfere.”

“Maybe I won’t.” His smile was sincere and she couldn’t help but believe him.

She took a deep breath and turned his way again and began speaking, his welcoming eyes, so accepting and warm made her keep going, inviting her to tell him everything, and next thing she knew she'd spilled her guts out to him. Laying it all on display. She told him of her decision to join the army, she told him about how she felt she was fighting for the wrong cause and wanted out. She told him about how lost she was and how the only place she found a home was with the two misfits that were now her companion and her emperor. 

He'd listened intently, never breaking eye contact or seeming bored by her long winded explanation of her life story instead of giving him the answer to the questions he’d asked her. When she'd finished talking and all that was left was silence, she was surprised with herself. But it felt good to talk about her past, to let it go in a way she'd never done before. At this point in her life, she didn’t have any friends, not the kind you sit and talk to and let out your frustrations. Her companion Shu shared her struggles of their current life, but aside from camaraderie and loyalty, confiding her feelings was not something she did. This borderline stranger’s presence was comforting, and she knew they’d part ways soon, probably to never meet again, and it gave her the courage to speak of things she hadn’t dared to anyone in her new life before.

"Thanks for sharing that with me." Trunks didn't say anything else in return, but he looked peaceful, content to have been allowed to catch a glimpse into her life.

Fully realizing she had talked too much for the night, and maybe a little embarrassed that she had been so overly excited to have someone listening to her, she took her shovel and stood up to retreat. 

"I better get to bed, it's late and you have to train in the morning." 

"I'll see you at breakfast then? And don't worry about keeping me up, I don't need much sleep anyway." He was thoroughly enjoying her company, and although lately he had been indulging in sleep more than usual, he didn’t mind sacrificing some of it to talk with her for a little longer.

"Yeah goodnight!" She said with a smile as she worked her way to the room as quickly as the supporting shovel would allow her to. 

There it was again. It was a beautiful and genuine smile, he indulged in the beauty of the simple gesture and with pleasure, and even though her back was to him he smiled at her feeling a sense of peace wash over him. 

Later that night, as he sat outside the capsule home carving away at the branch he had collected, slowly seeing it take shape, the smile never once left his face as he thought of her.

* * *

As soon as he saw the door of the room opening, he was walking over with the cane he’d made, hidden behind his back, but when he saw her at leaning at the entry he stopped mid step. His mouth dropped open and he swallowed at the sight in front of him.

Noticing his eyes examining her, she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. She’d been wearing his clothes to sleep without his knowing, she’d found them as she rummaged through the drawers for something comfortable on the second day she was there. At that point, she didn’t feel comfortable speaking with him, so she took it upon herself to figure out what to do. There wasn’t much variety, or too many clothes for that matter, so she had settled for a black tank top that matched the one he usually wore and some dark gray sweat pants. But last night she had decided that she couldn’t continue to wear her own clothes even for daytime use anymore, they needed a good wash immediately. She was disgusted with herself that she’d gone so long without doing something about it. A week in the same clothes was far too long. She carefully scrubbed at her clothes in the bathtub and set them on the towel drying rack, hoping she’d be able to use them by morning, but she was wrong. The clothes were still damp and she was forced to remain in his clothing for the day.

“I washed my clothes by hand and they were still damp, I hope you don’t mind.” She looked at him sheepishly.

“No of course not use whatever you need, but you know there’s a washer and dryer here.” He walked over to a discreet door which she had assumed was a hallway closet.

“That would’ve come in handy. I should’ve asked.” She was still holding herself, holding her weight against the door frame. His tank top was far too exposed for her taste, especially how it hung on her neckline and shoulders.

“That was my mistake, I never have company, so I’m not the best host.” Back home, it was just him and his mother, and here he had been so preoccupied with giving her space that he kept overlooking the little things.

She’d come closer to take a peek at the mini laundry room, and when she was done inspecting, he closed the door and turned to look at her. Standing as close as they were, he couldn’t help but take in her appearance. Kami, she was beautiful.

“Oh uh, I made you something.” He said suddenly as he remembered why he’d sought her out. He held up the cane, each end resting on either palm, like a king presenting his knight with a new sword.

Her eyes went wide and she looked from him to the object in his hands. She was in awe, it was a carefully crafted wooden cane, there was a twinkle in her eye as she carefully inspected it, admiring the craftsmanship of his work. She took it from his hands, letting go of the shovel and rested the cane against the floor, leaning her weight against it for support. It was perfect, the height, the feel of it. 

“You really made this?” It was so well done, and it was such a kind gesture that she found herself smiling from ear to ear. Her eyes were bright and glistening from the joy she felt. He smiled back at her and nodded his head, silently assenting. Her face hurt but she smiled wider, too caught up in the moment between her and the handsome young man, and before she could stop herself, she leapt at him, crashing against him and putting both arms around his neck.

Trunks saw it coming, it played out for him in slow motion, and when her arms landed around his neck, and her slender body pressed against him. His heart began to beat wildly in his chest, his breath quickened and reacting on pure instinct he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her closer. His nose buried in her hair, he breathed her in and felt a familiar tingle in his stomach.

* * *

The beeping from the scouter indicated an incoming transmission from Vegeta, the signal interrupting his hypersleep. He tapped the scouter to accept the call and waited for the word.

“Raditz, we are on our way to planet 4032-877, I want you to rendezvous with us there immediately, there’s some business I need to attend to. You can find your brother some other day.“

“Can you confirm the planet number Vegeta?” He thought he was dreaming, had Vegeta just recited the planet number he was heading to?

“Pay attention when I speak to you! It’s planet 4032-877, burn it into your memory because I will not repeat myself again.” Vegeta’s gruff voice was grating his ear from the unnecessary scolding.

“Sorry Vegeta, won’t happen again. It’s just that’s the planet I’m heading to right now, for my brother.”

It seemed like minutes had passed before Vegeta answered, maybe he too was shocked at the revelation, but what was Vegeta doing heading to that planet? Had Frieza ordered them to purge it? He didn’t feel like asking, the dark prince was in his default foul mood and right now, and he had no intentions of dealing with it right now.

“Well then, this should be interesting. Report back when you land.” There was a sinister undertone to his words and Raditz could only imagine the wrath Vegeta had in store for the blonde’s unsuspecting planet.


	10. See Me

She didn’t think, she just acted. It was so unlike her but she was overwhelmed with happiness and didn’t know how to thank him, all she could do was hug him tight, let him feel through her actions the gratitude she felt for his continued kindness. But caught in the embrace, she found herself enjoying it, the heat radiating off of him, his firm and strong posture keeping her close, brought her a sense of safety she could no longer deny. When his arms pulled her closer, she didn’t feel scared or the need to retreat. They both indulged in the moment, not realizing how starved they both were of affection and the simplicity of human contact.

When they finally let go, they stared into each other’s eyes, the sky blue of his complementing the midnight blue of hers, blending together like the colors of the ocean. It felt completely different than their other interactions, the closeness, the level of familiarity in which they looked at each other, it was unlike anything else that’d happened between them. They knew, it couldn’t be ignored, this moment marked the beginning of something new.

* * *

In the passing days, they’d fallen into a routine. He’d be out to train and she’d make food to share while he was gone. The only addition was that in the free time she had, waiting for his return, she had begun to test her limits. Everyday, with the help of her cane, she’d see how far she could walk, hoping that maybe soon she could do more. She was both amazed and disappointed in the distances she could cover. Certainly not enough to get her anywhere, but enough to determine that she was healing nicely.

And then there was the part of her routine that she was beginning to secretly look forward to. After eating and watching TV together, which she suspected bored him to death, judging by the glazed look in his eyes, they would step out together. Once the heat of the day was gone, and the moon and the stars lit up the night sky, they’d begin their stroll down the dirt path leading them into the wilderness.

“It’s a little creepy out here, so quiet and far away from everything.” She remembered how much she hated being outside of the palace in the middle of the night. The shadows always seemed to transform themselves into twisted shapes of nightmares and her overactive imagination had her jumping at every movement caught out of the corner of her eye.

“I think it’s peaceful. “ His blue eyes reflected the serenity of his words, the twinkle of the stars dancing on his irises, accompanied his gentle smile. She absorbed the peaceful look on his face and felt a little bit of envy that she couldn’t be more like him. So sure of himself, confident, and at ease with the nature that surrounded them. It was a beautiful night, but when facing it alone, even if she wasn’t a fragile damsel in distress and could take her share of danger, her insecurities lingered. She always pushed through somehow with her sheer will of fire, but even so that didn’t mean she wasn’t shaking in her boots as she did so. Tonight though, she wasn’t alone, she was in good company. His confidence was contagious and allowed her to enjoy herself even if just a little. 

“Easy for you to say, you’re like a tank! The creatures of the night aren’t a threat to you.” She could appreciate the darkness and forget about whatever could be lurking in the shadows. It was another new experience for her, a gift, courtesy of the young man walking by her side. But it didn’t change the past, the strange life threatening missions Pilaf had sent her on, and the ones from her time in the army had done a number on her psyche. 

A deep chuckle resonated from his chest, interrupting the flashing images of her past, bringing her full attention to his form again. He always seemed to find her words somewhat amusing. Not because she intended to be funny but she had peculiar way of wording things that made the atmosphere feel lighter.

“Hardly, still have a long ways to go to reach my goal.” He sighed, feeling instantly drained at the thought of what he’d been through in his quest for strength. Even if his smile remained, upon closer inspection would be discovered as slightly more tired, more weary of the world. But no matter the circumstances he always reminded himself to never lose hope, his mother’s motto, and his lifeline through all the most difficult moments in his life. 

Momentarily letting his eye wander over to the girl next to him, Trunks noticed how focused she was on the road ahead, as if she too was engrossed in her own internal monologue like he so often found himself doing. He wondered what went through her head. She reminded him of a cat, her eyes were always watching, absorbing her surroundings and looking at him with unmistakable curiosity. And when he caught a glimpse of her eyes returning to examine him once more, he went back to staring up at the stars, for whenever their gazes would met, she’d shrink back like a scared kitty at the realization she’d been caught. He found it amusing and dare he say, endearing, that she found him that interesting.

BAM!

“What the!” Trunks yelped, came to a complete stop and turned to face Mai.

“Oh no!” Mai quickly retreated into herself, pulling her limbs close to her torso and squatting back a bit.

Trunks rubbed his temple, his eyes wide open in shock at what had just transpired. She really literally had just socked him in the face! Where the hell did that come from? One moment he was letting himself feel flattered by her attention on him, and the next she was hitting him? Could she read his mind and didn’t like the idea of him liking the way she looked at him? Did he seem smug?

As if reading his thoughts, he was surprised Mai answered him in a meek and stuttering voice.

“I-I thought you-you’d dodge that! You train so much and, and you seem so strong, I-I,” she looked absolutely petrified at the fear of how he’d react.

_Oh jeez,_ Trunks thought. He didn’t know if to laugh or comfort her. She was definitely regretting her actions by the remorseful look on her face. On second thought, he decided she looked absolutely hilarious. Was that what was going through her mind a moment ago when she seemed so pensive? She was most definitely a cat and he was her prey, watching him closely, waiting for her moment to strike when all his defenses were gone. He had to give her credit. It didn’t hurt in the least, but he could respect her observant nature.

“Well, you got me, I wasn’t expecting you to be testing me. Guess I have to be on my guard from now on around you.” He teased the beginning of a smile on his lips.

Slowly, his words sank in and she began to surface from her imaginary cocoon that shielded her from dying of embarrassment at her ridiculous attempt. She most certainly wasn’t expecting to actually land a punch on him, he was a martial artist, there was no way! She just wanted to prove her theory of calling him a “tank.” Really, that’s all it was, an innocent test. Her features began to soften and her body straightened back to a normal standing position, the realization of the implications of what just happened dawning on her. To let his guard down in such a way, to be so defenseless, uncharacteristic of someone of his caliber, it could only mean one thing: he trusted her too. She stared back at him with a mix of awe and amazement, a look that didn’t escape him.

“What? I’m fine, see?” He said leaning in to let her have a closer look at his face.

There was a light tint of pink on her skin beginning to form at his closeness, all she could do in return was give him a shy smile and turn away from him. The hug from the other day was still fresh in her mind, and the short distance between them brought back the memories in exquisite detail.

* * *

She was curious, more than curious actually; it was tearing at her mind to find out what kind of training he was doing. It was blatantly obvious to her that he was incredibly fast because as far as she could tell he was never anywhere near the capsule home. She was 100% sure of that. On her walks, she had made certain that each day she walked in different direction in hopes of catching him in the act, but she was never successful. Just how fast was he? How powerful was he? The other day when she had punched him, it was a complete fluke. A pleasant surprise, despite their rocky start she was certain now that he wasn’t a bad person, not even close. He never did anything to make her uncomfortable, at least not on purpose, but he still was such a mystery. All those nights ago she had accidently revealed a little too much about herself, but she realized that he hadn’t said much in return. Everything was cryptic. What was he hiding? At that point in time, she didn’t feel it was right to ask anything or pry. However, the longer they spent together, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to stick with that decision. She wouldn’t pull any information from him by asking, so she resorted to gathering information through observation. She wasn’t suspicious of him in the way that made her fear him, it was more based on the fact that she wanted to know what was behind those eyes. Many times when they sat there silently, his face would be contorted into one of worry with a far off look in his eyes. Something bothered him deeply, but when she spoke to him, his features would soften, pushing away whatever thoughts plagued his mind during his idle time.

Today, something clicked with her. Was it cabin fever, was it the boredom, was it the punch in the face? Mai couldn’t quite place the reasoning behind her actions; all she could say for certain is that she wanted to know. She didn’t bother making dinner, or occupying her time with anything that would take her eyes away from her surroundings. She stood outside patiently leaning on her cane, waiting, observing, wanting more than anything to catch a glimpse of that incredible speed she suspected he possessed. As she sat there, the one thing she didn’t expect, was what she witnessed next. 

Was it a bird? That dot up in the sky, it was getting bigger with each passing second and when it finally began to take a familiar shape and she recognized the coloring, she couldn't control her jaw going slack. Gaping open as the figure landed right before her eyes.

Dusting some dirt off his jacket, it appeared as if Trunks hadn’t yet noticed what he had caused. He'd sent her mind into a whirlwind of questions and doubts. Flying! He was flying! She had been waiting out there for hours, waiting to watch him run into her line of sight like a flash but this?! Unbelievable. Who was this guy? After a couple of weeks of living together and thinking she was slowly getting to know him, all of a sudden she felt like she knew nothing at all. 

After dusting himself off for what seemed like an eternity to Mai, but was probably only a few seconds, he finally looked up and locked eyes with the raven haired girl sporting the most bewildered expression he'd ever witnessed on her face. Instantly he knew his mistake... She was always inside, she never waited for him that far out away from the house, but today she had and she had seen him. How was he going to get out of this one? He was deeply concerned at her reaction, she wasn't moving or saying anything. She was still staring at him, eyes peeled open taking in his every move. He debated internally whether he should be the first to speak, but judging by her stupor, he didn't think it'd do any good. Maybe it was best if he stayed quiet to let her come around, and maybe that way it'd buy him a few extra seconds to gather his thoughts to think about where he would even begin. 

"You...you can fly..." She stuttered, the stupefied expression never leaving her face.

Trunks sighed and shot her an apologetic look... And there it was again, he'd have to reveal a little bit more about himself. He really didn't want to. He had two options, break the agreement of helping her while she recovered and leave her to the wolves in some town to never see or speak to her again and that way it would avoid any further compromising of information.

His eyes shifted to her... One quick glance and that plan was discarded as fast as it materialized in his mind. His father had called him soft, and he was right, he didn’t have the heart to abandon her, especially not now that he was beginning to feel a sort of companionship, friendship from their odd arrangement. Option two, another lie? But what? Damn it. Option three, answer like a politician: Vague and dancing circles around the situation. But judging by the expression in her face he was almost certain that wouldn't work, she would want real answers. Answers he couldn't give.

"Yes..." Option four. Go with the flow.

"Wh.. wha...why...how?!" She finally blurted out. Still too stunned, she could barely speak. It was shocking enough the first time she had witnessed his strength, but this new revelation was on a whole other level. She watched him closely as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, an action she hadn't witnessed from him since that first day in the capsule home. 

"It's part of the special training I received." He didn't want to say more than he had to, in their conversations he'd always let her do most of the talking and this wouldn't be any different. He'd let her come to her own conclusions. He'd already done enough by even deciding to interact with her in the first place, and today was the culmination of his worries of the current situation with the girl. He knew he was going to leave a lasting expression on her from the get go, but now... It was more than that, he'd stunned her by blowing her mind on what a "human" could do. 

“And.. and, just what kind of training teaches people to fly?!”

“I’d go into detail but you’re not a martial artist, so I don’t think it’d do any good if I tried to explain it.” Maybe it was a copout but at this point he’d try anything to get her to stop staring at him like that, it was making him nervous.

“Oh no… no, no, no. That’s not like any martial artist I’ve ever seen.” She was shaking her head back and forth, her breathing hadn’t steadied but she continued to focus on him, never missing a beat.

He took a deep breath, it was going to be a long day.

* * *

He sat there explaining to her the details of how Ki worked while she stared at her hands, at him, looking them both up and down as if somehow she’d be able to see the energy if she squinted her eyes.

“It doesn’t work that way Mai, you have to feel it. Sense it. You can’t actually see it.”

“Is it too late for me then? To learn and be able to use that energy?” Her eyes were peeled open absorbing every word. He’d expected her to be scared, but she wasn’t. Instead, she was eager to hear more and possibly attempt it herself, which he wasn’t sure if it was a wise idea to teach her.

“Not necessarily. But it will be much more difficult since you’d have to start with the basics of martial arts.” She looked deflated but kept focusing on her body, staring at her limbs.

“Agh! If I was healed we could start now, but my leg… It’s still bothering me.”

“I know… I’m sorry.” He always felt guilty thinking about it.

“Hey! I just thought of something, if you had this power, you could’ve gotten a car anytime you wanted, so why didn’t you? Why keep me here?” She was giving him an accusatory look.

“It’s nothing more than me trying not to blow my cover. If I was certain that you weren’t going to heal properly I would’ve taken you to town, but unfortunately I’ve seen and treated my fair share of wounds.”

“You keep talking about that, were you in the military too? Oh wait that’s right… you don’t want to talk about it.” He couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or if she really was trying to let it go, maybe it was a bit of both.

“No, not really. I’d rather not talk too much about myself. It’s bad enough that I’m even here.” It was the truth, he had contemplated it over the nights he’d lay awake restless thinking about home. He had since decided that he had been foolish and that maybe it wasn’t worth knowing, that he’d just have to live with the uncertainty and that once Mai was doing better, he’d be on his way.

However things never went his way, the dark cloud that followed him was upon him. Like a flash of lightning, an energy signature pierced through his senses. He flinched at the sensation and Mai was upon him with concern in her eyes.

“What? What’s wrong, you ok?” She was holding onto his arm staring at him but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update I made was in August, I had more health issues. This is the only complete chapter I have. There's lots of scenes written in my notes, I don't even know what chapters they'll be in. This story is an experiment, to test my writing. I hope in the end it'll turn out ok. Maybe this is a no no to do but I have gone back several time to previous chapters and edited scenes and cut out portions. The essence is still the same, it's just whenever you think you've edited something, there's always a mistake or something that could flow better.


	11. Regrets

One moment she was awake watching planet Trade rapidly shrinking to the size of a spec of dust and the next she was opening her eyes witnessing the majestic blue marble rapidly expanding in front of her. Home, she was home.

Her eyes welled up with tears as she clenched a fist to her heart feeling its tender flutters as she experienced the excitement after years of travel seeing her home again. She watched intently, squirming at the edge of her seat as the continents morphed into more distinct and detailed shapes.

"Yes yes yes! I'm home!" She was shaking, bursting with energy emanating from her core, making her legs tap repeatedly on the floor.

"Jeez Blondie, better brace yourself, get ready for impact." He said it with barely contained amusement, anymore of those ridiculous faces she made as she blabbed on to herself like a giddy child and he'd burst out laughing.

Her brows furrowed, erasing all trace of her previous mood as he could see her thoughts manifest clearly through her expressions. Confusion, surprise, and finally annoyance but before she could open her mouth to say a word:

Crash! Boom!

Her body was flung out of her seated position, smashing her face first against the red stained plexiglass of the space pod.

"Ooof." She would've screamed but the g-force of the landing had compressed her body, immobilizing her without the opportunity to take a single inhale.

Breathless, she allowed herself to be pulled off the glass by Raditz. One moment she was happy, the next she was fearing a collapsed lung, only to forget it all and let the questions that invaded her mind spill incoherently from her mouth.

"Is it barren of life? Is my family alive? Are you gonna kill them if they're alive? What're you gonna do?"

A singular eyebrow raised, he waited until she finally realized her blabbering wasn't giving him a chance to get a single word in. Noticing her embarrassment he poked fun a little but decided to answer what he could because he was curious. He wanted to find his brother and see what in the hell had happened to him.

He explained to her what he saw through his scouter. The planet was thriving. With that tid bit of info Raditz thought it would be best to seek out his brother before checking in on her family. They came to an agreement with him promising he wouldn't hurt the earthlings, unless they dare challenge him to a fight. No orders from frieza meant he did as he pleased.

Locked on to the highest power level he detected on the planet, nothing could've prepared them for what they found upon arrival.

* * *

There was knot in his throat. He turned to look at her not knowing how or even if he should begin.

"I...I have to check on something." He narrowed his eyes at the sky again. "If it turns out to be what I think it is. I'll tell you everything."

She nodded silently concerned at his reaction. He looked afraid. What could possibly make someone like him feel fear? She watched as he took off feeling like she was way in over her head with the mysterious young man. Her head hurt, she was tired.

* * *

An empty space pod. He was masking his power level and trailing after the owner. This was bad. No Saiyan aside from Goku was supposed to set foot on Earth until many years past this time. He watched him land and saw he was gently setting down a blond woman. He panicked when he realized their target. His mother.

He was on his toes, ready to take action but their demeanor made him hesitate. There was no hostile aura about them and he was only further confused when the scene before him unfolded into something out of ludicrous nonsensical dream.

* * *

"My brother."

"My sister."

"What!?" Raditz and Tights said in unison. Eyebrows raised and jaws slacked open.

"Don't you see the Saiyan tail? That's my brother Kakakort right there!" He pointed aggressively at the cheerful boy that accompanied his sister.

"No way... Well that blue haired girl, that's my sister!"

They stared at each other in disbelief and made a beeline past the other town folk to their respective siblings.

Feeling eyes upon them accompanied by loud hurried footsteps the trio stopped and turned to look at the approaching forms.

"Si-sister?" Bulma thought she was seeing a ghost, she hadn't heard from or seen her sister for god knows how long. So either this was a vision or the woman with the sunshine hair now running towards her was finally back.

Strong feminine arms wrapped around Bulma's neck, crushing her lungs. She was back. She was really back! She was happy and was going to give a celebratory squeeze back but her overactive mind abruptly snapped her back to reality and pulled away from the embrace. The younger of the two sisters was now holding on to the elder one's shoulders examining her face with great scrutiny.

"Where have you been? Mom and dad have been worried sick about you! We haven't gotten a transmission from you in like over a year." There was a hint of anger in the teenager's voice, her tone strong and demanding.

"Hey don't talk to me like that, it's no way to greet your older sister. And for your information I've been stranded out in space with no way to get back, if I hadn't hitched a ride with this guy I'd still be over there."

They were both fiesty, they couldn't help themselves. Everytime they talked they bickered, their strong personalities clashed just as they did now and made it hard to keep a pleasant conversation more than a few minutes. Tights wasn't at all surprised to see her sister's reaction but couldn't stop herself from reacting similarly.

"A ride? With?" Her blue eyes moved from her sister to the massive perfectly sculpted man that accompanied her.

"Oh." Bulma said growing quiet for a second taking in the sight.

"Hehehe wow sis." Bulma was giddy, putting her hands on her cheeks to contain her ever growing mischevious smile.

"What?" Tights was confused.

"You got yourself a hunky alien boyfriend huh?" Her blue eyebrows raising up and down in a teasing manner.

Blushing profusely at the comment Tights chose not to answer and instead crossed her arms and looked away from her sister's curious eyes that were travelling from her to him back and forth over and over again faster each time until her eyes seemed be locked onto something over in the boys direction.

"Tails!" Bulma blurted out and pointed at the two Raven haired males standing face to face with each other while Oolong cowered behind Goku.

"Yeah Bulma, this is kinda hard to believe but...your little buddy there and my ride...well, they're not human, they're from a race called Saiyans from planet Vegeta, definitely not from earth." She blurted it out. Pulled it like bandaid. She knew her sister and knew she preferred it that way anyway.

"Aliens... Saiyans. What!?" Bulma shrieked in her signature scream, still hyper focused on the tails.

The two saiyans paused their intense conversation that Tights and Bulma had almost completely missed and looked at the blue eyed girl with the wild eyes.

"What's wrong Bulma? I have a brother how cool is that? " Gokus innocent voice said with enthusiasm.

"Yes, we came looking for you, you... You... Didn't complete your mission...why?" The boy looked so youthful, bright and pleasant. Nothing like anyone Tights had seen in the PTO. How could he be sent here to destroy the earth?

"I don't get it." The boy looked lost, his round eyes begging for clarification.

Raditz slapped his face. "There's something wrong with the kid. Doesn't remember anything and is barely literate."

"That's Goku." Bulma giggled at Raditz exasperated remark.

"His name is Kakarot."

"I told you my name is Goku! You're not a very nice brother forgetting my name already." His simple minded response made the older Saiyan huff in annoyance.

"Well I for one am glad of this bit of news, my planet is still safe so it doesn't matter what name your brother goes by. I'm so relieved he's peaceful."

Raditz looked disgusted staring at the boy, he looked soft and weak. He was not one to be a classist like Vegeta but this was just outright humiliating to all third class saiyans that ever lived. If he was to bring him back to the PTO he'd have to whip the kid into shape. Vegeta and Napa would never accept him in this state. As a race doomed to be extinct, it seemed like a damn shame to let a perfectly able bodied saiyan go to waste.

"Wait hold on, what mission and what exactly is going on?" Bulma was piecing it together, taking it all in wanting to know more about their current situation.

"Oh my dear sister, if you only knew what is going on out there in the expanse of deep space." Tights preluded with her cryptic message but then proceeded to completely and thoroughly explain the complexity of the situation at hand and their possible recourse.

"I'm too young and beautiful to die!" Bulma plopped down on the dusty road to cry her heart out at the knowledge of a space tyrant and planet purgers.

The pig who'd been unusually quiet up until this point spoke up,"so someone was sent here to wipe us out and they're already here? And if your buddy here and Goku are part of this PTO how can we trust them? They could snap at any moment and kill us all!" He was trembling violently. Now hiding behind Bulma after realizing the extent of Goku's true identity.

Raditz rolled his eyes, these earthlings were frustrating with their cowardice. His brother seemed unfazed but rather excited at the prospect of battle for the safety of the planet. Maybe there was hope for him. The thirst for battle was in his blood.

"Quite possibly. And just an fyi if they wanted to kill you they would've done it already... It's someone else we are worried about, we need to find them." Tights knew how it worked, if he wasn't getting paired and he wasn't on a mission ordered by Vegeta, Raditz really could give a rat's ass about a lot of things.

"Don't worry Oolong this is my home and you are my friends so I will protect you." Goku tried to sway the pig, but he still sat behind Bulma, hesitant to move.

"Worried about who? Who?!" Bulma was absolutely panicked, which made the pig hiding behind her even more ridiculous.

"A few weeks ago we detected a ship landing here, its tracker signal originating from the planet of soldiers I told you about. Why they haven't attacked... I can't even begin to comprehend. Unless they've gone rogue like you?" Tights turned to Raditz for confirmation.

"Hey I haven't gone rogue. Vegeta is on his way here too."

"WHAT?" The blonde was hyperventilating. Could things get any worse?

* * *

Trunks's blood ran cold. It was him. They were looking for him. The timing was too much of a coincidence. But how? He felt faint. How could it have gone so wrong? How would he fix this? How could he begin to intervene to set the timeline back into some sense or normalcy? He leaned against the rock he'd been hiding behind and let himself slide to the floor. He had to be the unluckiest fool in all the twisted universes.

"Mother I'm so sorry." His eyes hurt, they were watering. "I should've never left."


End file.
